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SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE REPORT
19 NOV 1952
‘THE FRENCH NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM
13 November 1959
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE
SO AR ACL Morr bocID: 198161 UNCLASSIFIED
Scientific intelligence Report
THE FRENCH NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM
NOTICE
The conclusions, judgments, and opinions
contained in this finished intelligence report
are based on extensive scientific intelligence
research and represent the final and consid-
ered views of the Office of Scientific Intelti-
gence.
13 November 1959
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE LLL
MORI DocID: 198161 UNCLASSIFIED
is CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE Ht
PROBLEM. 2 se et
CONCLUSIONS ©. ee
SUMMARY. . 1
‘DISCUSSION. 2... . 2
Tnltroduction 5. 2
Availablity of Uranium... 3
; Plutontum Production. ©. 6 2. ss 3 4
“Plutonium Extraction. 62... + 4
=" Yranium Isotope Separation. . 4
‘Weapons Research and Development 6
Nuclear Weapons Testing . 6
REFERENCES . 9
TABLE
Estimated French Piutonfum Production at Marcoule. . 5 MORI DocID: 198161
nnn ne ne
UNCLASSIFIED
THE FRENCH NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM
PROBLEM
‘To assess French capability to produce fissionable material
‘and to develop, test, and produce nuclear weapons; and to esti-
mate the Likely timing of the first French nuclear weapons test.
DE
‘CONCLUSIONS
1, France began research and development
activities'in atomic energy that had applica-
ton for nuclear weapons about 1954, Tn 1858
France decided to complete the development
and testing of a nuclear weapon and could
2. France has sufficient uranium ore avail-
able for its planned program and has in op-
eration 3 reactors and a chemical separa.
tion plant for the production of plutonium.
France probably had 15 to 25 kilograms of
plutonium suitable for weapons purposes by
July 1959 and could increase the production
of plutonium to 100 kilograms a year by late
1960 and to about $50 kdlograms of plutonium
a year by 1968
3. A gaseous diffusion plant Is being bullt
‘at Plerrelatte and should enable the French
to produce uranium enriched in U-235 to
about 3 percent by 1962, Uranium highly
enriched in U-235 (suitable for weapons use)
could be produced in small quantities by 1965.
4, The French nuclear weapons test site
headquarters 1s located at Reggane In the
Sahara Desert, and the test range 1s believed
to be about 60 miles almost due south of
Reggane. The first test will probably be a
300-foot tower shot of an all-plutonium im-
plosion weapon yielding about 20 kilotons,
‘SUMMARY
In 1952 after several years of basic research,
the French introduced a 5-year plan for atom-
Ic energy development, The major alm of this
plan was the establishment of a large pluto-
nium production fecllity. Such production
indicates a general intention to develop nu-
clear weapons, but weapons development did
not receive public support and high priority
until 1958, Now the French apparently, in-
tend to conduct a test regardless of any East-
‘West test ban agreement by the present nu-
clear powers.
be | : wort bocrD: 196161
UNCLASSIFIED
Construction work on the plutonium pro-
duction center, begun in 1954 at Marcoule in
the Rhone Valley near Avignon, was completed
in mid-1958. The major facilities at Marcoule
are three natural uranlum, graphite mod-
erated reactors and a chemical separation
plant for the separation of plutonium from
irradiated uranium. The French probably
had obtained about 15 to 25 kilograms of plu-
tonium from these facilities by mid-1959.
When in full operation, probably late in 1960,
the Marcoule center will be able to produce
approximately 100 kilograms of plutonium
per year. The production of plutonium could
be increased to about 550 kilograms per year
by 1985 upon completion of the announced
nuclear power reactor program. The present
French nuclear weapons capability is limited
to those weapons using plutonium as the basic
fissionable material.
In mid-1957 the French decided to incur the
large expense of building their own gaseous
diffusion plant for the production of enriched
uranium. A full scale gaseous diffuston plant
4s being erected at Pierrelatte, 15 miles south
of Montelimar on the Rhone River. Plans
call for the plant to be in partial operation in
3 years and in full production in ¢ years pro-
ducing a product enriched in U-235 to about
3 percent. Additional stages may be added
to the plant later to secure & product of higher
enrichment suitable for weapons purposes,
Nuclear weapons research and development
‘was carried on for several years before the
French publicly announced tiveir intentions to
proceed with the actual fabrication and test-
ing of nuclear weapons. The French have ac-
tively sought Information and support in nu-
clear weapons design and test instrumenta-
tion from the United States and United King-
dom:but the support received has been limited
largely to unclassified information and test
equipment. Therefore, the first French weap-
fons will be the product of an almost com-
pletely native effort.
Little formation is available on actual
French nuclear weapons research and develop.
ment, and the principal scientists involved
have never been identified. It is believed that
the Department de Techniques Nouvelles
(DTN) of the French Commissariat a YEn-
ergie Atomique (CEA) has responsibility for
the overall development of nuclear weapons,
‘The centers at Bruyere-le-Chatel, Vaujours,
Saclay, and Paris (Fort d’Issy) may be doing
research and development on the non-nuclear
‘components of nuclear weapons under or for
the DIN. “The French have had sufficient
time to develop or acquire the non-nuclear
components for these weapons. Because only
small quantities of plutonium are available
at the present time, it is likely that the first
nuclear weapon to be tested by the French
will be an implosion type.
‘The weapons tesis have been delayed by a
combination of technical difficulties in ac-
quiring fissionable material. Although the
chemical separation plant was completed in
July 1958, it did not reach production scale
“operations until about January 1959, and
weapons grade plutonium did not become
available until the summer of 1959.
DISCUSSION
INTRODUCTION
From the beginning of the French nuclear
energy program in October 1948 until about
1955, the French government and the majority
of the French people were strongly opposed
2
to the development of nuclear weapons by
France, Nevertheless, since 1952 (the be-
ginning of the first S-year plan for nuclear
energy), rapid development of nuclear re-
search has taken place in France, and certain ‘MORI ‘DocID:
198161
UNCLASSIFIED
sections of the military have claimed since
1954 that the French need a nuclear bomb for.
adequate defense, Some preliminary weap-
ons research may have been started in 1954,
By 1956 France had the economic and tech-
nological capability to proceed with the de-
velopment of nuclear weapons.'? Apparently
the decision to proceed with the manufacture
of nuclear weapons came after the humiliating
Anglo-French withdrawal from Suez in-No-
vember 1956. Since General de Gaulle came
to power in June 1958, his determination to in-
crease French stature and independence in
NATO and the increased feeling among mili-
tary and government officials of a need for
a native nuclear deterrent to protect vital
French interests have made it highly probable
that France will proceed with the manufac-
ture and testing of nuclear weapons regard-
Jess of any East-West test ban agreed upon
by the present nuclear powers.
AVAILABILITY “OF URANIUM
France obtains most of its uranium from
domestic sources, although small quantities
are imported from Madagascar, 2 French
possession. Major uranium deposits are lo-
cated at La Crousille near Lemoges, Vendee
in Brittany, Grury in Saone et Loire, Fores,
and possibly at Lachaux, southeast of Vichy.
Extensive exploration for new deposits 1s car-
ried out throughout France, Algeria, Mada-
gescar, and French West Africa. French
proven reserves of uranium oxide amount to
10,000 tons with possible unproven reserves
of from 50,000 to 100,000 tons. Present
French production of uranium oxide amounts
to 600 to 700 tons per year with a planned
production of 1,000 tons by 1961, 2,500 tons
by 1970, and 3,000 tons by 1975. ‘Thus, France
should be capable of meeting the uranium
requirements of its planned reactor program
from native soufces.
PLUTONIUM PRODUCTION
‘The frst French research reactor (Zoe) be-
gan operation at Chatillon in late 1948. Basic
research on the extraction of plutonium from
uranium was undertaken concurrently, and
by 1950 the first milligrams of plutonium in
the form of a purified salt had been obtained.
it was decided to construct a pilot
plant at Chatillon for the extrgction of plu-
tonium from irradiated uranium! The pilot
plant was completed in early 1854 by the St.
Gobain Chemical Company “{ifanufactures
des Glaces et Produits Chimigués de St..Go-
bain). This pilot facility 1s a solvent extrac-
tion plant using mixer-settlers, and by Janu-
ary 1955 about one gram of plutonium had
been extracted from the uraniuf rods taken
from the Zoe reactor.‘
Apparently the decision was made about
1952 to follow the “plutonium path” and ac-
quire plutonium in quantities sufficient for
weapons, since the 5-Year Plan called for the
establishment of a large phitonijum produe-
tion center. Preliminary sfiidies- were made,
and actual construction ofthe: plutonium
Production facility was begun in 1954 at
Marcoule, in the Rhone Valley near Avignon.
‘The major facilities at Marcoule include three
natural uranium, graphite moderated, gas
cooled reactors and @ chemical separation
plant, The reactors are designed primarily
to produce plutonium, with electric power be-
ing a by-product,
‘The first
these plutonfum producing re-
actors, G-1, went into operation on 7 Janu-
ary 1956. It has a designed power level of
40 thermal megawatts and is generally similar
to the US. Brookhaven pile. Since Septem-
ber 1956 the reactor has been running at only
about 35 thermal megawatts because of dif
ficulties encountered from fuel element rup-
ture’ ‘The annual production of plutonium
by the G-1 reactor was expected to be about
15 kilograms, but because it is operating at
reduced power levels, it 1s not expected that
this production rate will be achieved. The
frst set of {uel rods were irradiated in G-1
during 1956-57 and removed in December
1057" An experimental power generator was
installed at G-1 by Electricitie de France tor
the production of electricity. ‘The generator
hhas a maximum installed power of about 5
electrical megawatts, and it first produced
electricity in the fall of 1956.
aa : MORI DocID:
198161
UNCLASSIFIED
‘The second and third reactors at Marcoule,
G2 and G-S, are of identical design, ‘They
are natural uranium reactors, using graphite
as a moderator, and are cooled by pressurized
carbon dioxide. G-2 went into operation on
21 July 1958 and by April 1959 had attained
& power level suflclent to produce 9 mega-
‘watts of by-product electricity. At full scale
operation, it will have a power level of about
150 thermal megawatts, permitting the pro-
duction of about 40 kilograms of plutonium
per year and 25 to 30 megawatts of by-product
electricity. G-8 went into operation in June
1959, and It is expected that the power level
will be increased progressively until it is in
full scale operation sometime in 1960. When
the three reactors at Marcoule are in full op-
eration, the annual plutonium output will
probably be about 100 kilograms. In addi-
ion, some @5 megawatts of electricity will be
generated. ‘The accompanying table shows
the estimated plutonium production capacity
of the Frénch reactors at Marcoule.
‘Tne first French nuclear power station 1s
under construction at Avoine, just north of
Chinon. It Is scheduled to start operating in
1960. ‘This reactor, called EDF-1, is a graph-
tte moderated, gas-cooled reactor and will
have an estimated electrical output of 60
megawatts. Construction of additional power
reactors is planned, and current goals call
for 850 MW of installed capacity by 1965.
All of the nuclear power reactors will produce
significant quantities of plutonium as a by-
product. Upon completion of the announced
nuclear power program, French reactor facil-
ities should have the capacity to produce
about 550 kilograms of plutonium per year.
PLUTONIUM EXTRACTION
Construction work on the Chemical Separa.
tion ‘Plant at Matcoule was begun in 1955,
and the plant was inaugurated in July 1958
by General de Gaulle, It is a Purex-type
solvent extraction plant for plutonium and
uranium recovery. The overall process em-
ploys mixer-settlers and utilizes tributyl phos-
phate as the solvent and nitric acid as the
salting agent. The plutonium product is an
oxalate salt that is converted to metal at an
adjacent plutonium metal reduction facility,
In spite of earlier pilot plant work at Chatil
lon, considerable delay apparentlyswas en-
countered in getting the separatior#‘plant into
operation. The nature of the troubles un-
known,
‘Kilogram quantities of pluontum probably
did not become avallable for weapons develop-
ment purposes until the summer of 1959.
URANIUM ISOTOPE SEPARATION
As the French nuclear program developed,
it became clear that the possession of U-235
was essential. Research on Isotope separa-
tion was initiated at Saclay by 1955,-and in
1951 the frst of two pilot plant facilities was
begun. ‘The first Saclay pilot plintisvas a
12-stage installation used to test gaSétius dif-
fusion barriers. Barriers could be-tested in
both tubular and fiat shapes. The, second
plant at Saclay was larger and contained
16-stages of prototype cells of a type planned
for the first full-scale plant.#
In 1991 the CEA also secured an appropria-
tion of 26 billion francs ($71,350,000) * for
initial construction work on a full scale gase-
ous diffusion plant. France attempted to in-
erest the EURATOM partners in joint con-
struction of this full seale gaseous diffusion
plant, Only the Italians showed interest;
they are reported to have offered tentatively
about $20 million toward the project. Fi-
nally, France decided in 1958 to incur the
expense of building its own plant. Ground
‘was broken for this facility in the fall of 1958
at Plorrelatte, 15 miles south of Montelimar,
between two hydroelectric dams on the Rhone
River. The total cost of the installation is to
be around 56 billion francs ($156,970,000)."
Plans eall forthe plan to be in partial op-
eration in 8 years and tobe in full production
tn-4 years, The plant Is expected to treat
about 860 tons of natural uranium per yest,
Producing 600 to 700 kilograms of product
tnyiched in U-295 to about 3 percent. ‘This
product wil be suitable for increasing. the
EMiclency of French reactors but not suff-
V Conversion rate; 1 frane=$.002054,
: P| ESTIMATED FRENCH PLUTONIUM PRODUCTION AT MARCOULE*
ae OPERATING CAPACITY IN THERMAL MEGAWATTS (TMW)
(Cauzrox Yean
Passer Bror-or
ive ‘Dire ine Tost 1008 tose 3080-390) —
