The French Biological Weapons Program - Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945 - page 131

and particularly upon detection (use of fluorescent antibodies in warning
systems with nonspecific antibodies) and decontamination (trials of tri-
ethylene glycol, ethylene oxide, B-propiolactone, and hexylresorcinol). 73
On this date the CEB ceased all manufacture of botulinum toxin and put
a stop to studies on dispersion with the exception of research relating to
detection. For its own requirements, the CRSSA focused on the produc-
tion of various simulants (neisseriae, micrococci, Pseudomonad entero-
bacteria, vibrios, actinomycetes, and especially corynebacteria). 74
Conclusion
With the exception of an early period of enthusiasm from 1948 to 1956,
during which France committed limited human and financial resources
to the resumption of its prewar R&D program, France's BW program be-
tween 1945 and 1972 is characterized by a lack of strategic planning and
of continuity in action. This lack of interest was expressed in turn in bud-
getary, organizational, military, and political terms. In fact, despite a short
period from 1962 to 1964, during which the decision to create a biologi-
cal arsenal was taken without ever being put into practice, France's pro-
gram was essentially one of R&D without industrialization of the ar-
mament systems, the theoretical study of which was carried out only
between 1948 and 1956. As such, the scale of the program in France bore
no comparison with the programs of the US and the USSR at that time,
and was very much behind that of Britain. The fact remains, however,
that the advances made by the program, though described as modest,
were substantial and allowed key hypothetical data to be validated. Con-
versely, in operational applications advances were very limited, partic-
ularly after 1956, the year when real trials were partially abandoned.
France's decision at the end of the 1960s to obtain a nuclear arsenal, and
the substantial expenditure associated with the nuclear program in the
years that followed, sounded the death knell in 1967 for France's aspira-
tions in biological matters, at least as far as offensive weapons were con-
cerned. Signature of the BWC in 1972 served to enshrine legally a deci-
sion already implicit in fact for six years. Since that date, France has
worked unceasingly to ensure the strengthening of the Convention and
to promote its implementation.