France
France is estimated to hold 370 nuclear warheads, about 3% of the world total, of which roughly 290 are in its military stockpile and 280 are deployed with operational forces. All figures are open-source estimates as of 2026-01.
An almost entirely submarine and air-launched force. France dismantled its land-based missiles in the 1990s and closed its military fissile material production facilities, declaring the closure publicly, one of very few states to have done so.
| Deployed strategic | 280 |
|---|---|
| Deployed non-strategic | none reported |
| Reserve / non-deployed | 10 |
| Military stockpile | 290 |
| Total inventory | 370 incl. retired |
| Share of world total | 3.0% |
| First test | 1960-02-13 |
|---|---|
| NPT status | NPT nuclear-weapon state |
| Publicly declared | Yes |
| Fissile material route | Highly enriched uranium and plutonium |
| Civil programme | Reactors in France |
Nuclear-powered vessels
Naval propulsion is the largest use of highly enriched uranium outside weapons programmes.
| Programme | Type | Fuel enrichment |
|---|---|---|
| Charles de Gaulle | carrier | LEU |
| Le Triomphant class | submarine | LEU |
| Suffren class (Barracuda) | submarine | LEU |
Other armed states
| Country | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| Russia | 5,420 |
| United States | 5,042 |
| China | 620 |
| United Kingdom | 225 |
| India | 190 |
| Pakistan | 170 |
| Israel | 90 |
| North Korea | 60 |
France in context
Its total inventory of 370 warheads is 3.0% of the 12,187 across the 9 states on record, ranking 4th.
Its military stockpile of 290 is 3.0% of the world's 9,745.
80 warheads in its total are outside the military stockpile: retired warheads awaiting dismantlement, which headline totals often fold in.
280 of its warheads are listed as deployed (280 strategic), 97% of the military stockpile, with 10 in reserve.
Its first nuclear test was in 1960, 66 years ago.
Its NPT status is "NPT nuclear-weapon state", the same as 4 of the other 8 states on record.
| Measure | France | World (all nine states) | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total inventory | 370 | 12,187 | 3.0% of world, 4th of 9 |
| Military stockpile | 290 | 9,745 | 3.0% of world |
| Deployed warheads | 280 | 4,000 | 7.0% of world |
Worked out from the entries on this site only, so a figure compares France with what is recorded here, not with everything that exists. An entry with no value for a measure is left out of that measure's ranking and median.
Sources
- Federation of American Scientists, Status of World Nuclear Forces · retrieved 2026-09-07
- SIPRI Yearbook 2026, chapter 8: World nuclear forces
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data