Interview with Francois de Rose, 1986

Francois de Rose was France's Ambassador to NATO from 1970-1975. He discusses the influences on the French government leading to pursuit of the bomb. These centered around the notion of national self-confidence and grew out of France's defeat in 1940 and a sense of rivalry with Britain, among other reasons. He relates President de Gaulle's active steps toward developing an atomic weapon and his parallel pursuit of a veto over an American decision to use the bomb. In his view, the desire to be independent of the United States was paramount for de Gaulle. Mr. de Rose does not think there was any outright hostility between the two governments but believes that Kennedy resented France's steps more than Eisenhower did. France did not have any misgivings over Nixon's détente policies with the USSR, he says, especially since tactical weapons were not part of the SALT process. He notes the importance of the Ottawa Declaration in reasserting the unity of the alliance on defense matters.