France to reduce nuclear warheads

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”.

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.

France is believed to have 348 deployed nuclear weapons, including 288 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, 50 air-launched cruise missiles and 10 airborne bombs, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

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