Nuclear test

France

Nuclear test ban extended

France has extended its nuclear test ban in the South Pacific.

A statement from president Francois Mitterrand’s office called for a global nuclear test ban in response to president Bill Clinton’s decision to freeze United States tests until at least

September 1994.

The statement says France is in favour of a treaty banning tests completely, on condition that it is global and verifiable.

The French prime minister Edward Bahadur says he and Mitterrand have agreed to appoint experts to study whether France can maintain a modern nuclear deterrent without further tests. It is understood the latest moratorium is indefinite.

France suspended its underground tests in the South Pacific in April 1992 and urged other nuclear powers to do the same.