This book, first published in 1984, examines France’s independent nuclear weapons programme of the 1980s alongside the French peace movement, which was almost totally absent – in contrast to the peace protests of the US and the rest of Europe. This book analyses this unusual pattern of defence and dissent, and assesses its likely development. It looks at the evolvement of French post-war defence policy, and discusses the French peace movement, attempting to explain why it was so weak.