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Pascal Boniface


Nuclear diplomacy in Sarkozy's world
par Pascal BONIFACE (Gulf News, 16 octobre 2008)



Since the beginning of his mandate Nicolas Sarkozy has steadily promoted civilian French nuclear industry. And since his election the French president has signed several agreements with Arab and Asian countries in order to build nuclear reactors or to provide technical assistance.

These kinds of agreements have been concluded with Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Tunisia, Jordan, India, China.

The financial short term implications are often modest. But the long term forecast could reach billions of euros.

The commitment and eagerness to promote the French nuclear sector is so strong that some observers did not hesitate to present Sarkozy's foreign policy as "nuclear diplomacy". Various factors could explain this French President's actions.

Sarkozy believes that by a virtuous hazard, the French national interest is the same as the general interest on nuclear file. Thanks to massive state investments in the seventies, in order to cope with its soaring oil bill, France is leading in nuclear technology. Contrary to other industrialised countries, the opposition or the public opinion about nuclear energy has never been very strong, and remains limited to environmentalist political circles. This could be explained by the undying popular support for the French nuclear military programme. For French people, nuclear deterrence was historically a condition of strategic independence. The civilian program has been seen as a condition of economic independence.

Therefore France could benefit from a strong and efficient nuclear industry which can make a difference with other developed countries.

As France is facing again the threat of important commercial deficits, selling nuclear equipment should provide both foreign currencies and jobs for French workers while maintaining a technological advantage over its competitors. In Sarkozy's mind this is a perfect virtuous circle.

Worries and concerns persist over the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Sarkozy wants to cope with persisting critics from non nuclear states about non proliferation regimes. One of the most often heard arguments is that obligations are mainly if not exclusively for non nuclear countries, with few or no rights in compensation. According to Sarkozy, selling nuclear equipments, far from breeding military proliferation, could prevent it by withdrawing one of the major arguments against non proliferation regimes. Sarkozy wants to make clear that giving up nuclear weapons by non nuclear countries must not prevent them but on the contrary help them acquire nuclear civilian technology. It was part of the non proliferation treaty rules, included in article IV.

Hard on Iran

Nicolas Sarkozy is a hard liner against Iran's nuclear program. He has constantly repeated that Iran must be prohibited from obtaining nuclear weapons, but is legitimately entitled to go further on he nuclear civilian field. He has even stated that exporting nuclear equipment to Muslim countries is a way to combat the clash of civilisation theory.

It helps to fight against the double standard agreement, showing that western countries take into account southern countries' needs and rights to access modern technologies. "We are partners, even in this particular and highly sensitive sector" could be Sarkozy's motto. Emerging countries tend to think that westerners want to protect their technological advance by denying them access to it. Non proliferation is seen a smokescreen argument: the real aim is to limit their economic development. Moreover, as most of the agreements that have been signed by Sarkozy are with Arab countries, Israel has been concerned about its relationship with France.

Exports of nuclear equipment allow Sarkozy to have an active and positively perceived Arab policy in these countries, without any relationship with the Palestinian question.

Last but not least, the nuclear industry is presented as the best guarantee to have access to energy while struggling against climate change, and preserving the environment is one of Sarkozy's main priorities.

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