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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| France to reduce nuclear warheads | France to reduce nuclear warheads |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| President Nicolas Sarkozy has said France will reduce its number of airborne nuclear weapons by one third. | President Nicolas Sarkozy has said France will reduce its number of airborne nuclear weapons by one third. |
| Mr Sarkozy said the reduction to fewer than 300 missiles would leave France with "half the maximum number of warheads we had during the Cold War". | Mr Sarkozy said the reduction to fewer than 300 missiles would leave France with "half the maximum number of warheads we had during the Cold War". |
| But he also insisted he was committed to France's nuclear deterrent, saying it was its "life-insurance policy". | But he also insisted he was committed to France's nuclear deterrent, saying it was its "life-insurance policy". |
| He made the comments in a major defence policy speech after inaugurating a new nuclear-armed submarine, the Terrible. | He made the comments in a major defence policy speech after inaugurating a new nuclear-armed submarine, the Terrible. |
| "By giving this information, France is fully transparent since it has no other weapons than those in its operational stocks," he said in the speech at the northern port of Cherbourg. | |
| "Moreover, I confirm that none of our weapons are targeted at anybody." | |
| Mr Sarkozy's speech was his first about France's nuclear deterrent since he was elected president in May. |