Year
2019
Abstract
France has been party to the Euratom Treaty since its creation in 1957 and all its civil nuclear activities have been subject, for more than sixty years, to international safeguards applied by the European Commission. In 1981, its safeguards agreement with the IAEA and Euratom entered into force. These two milestones paved the way of a long history of concrete implementation of safeguards in France. In 2017, around 1399 (1521 with IAEA inspections) Person Days Inspection (PDI) were used during 326 (345) inspections in French nuclear facilities (representing about 37% of the total inspection effort in the European Union). This puts France among the group of states welcoming the largest number of international safeguards inspections and make it the most heavily controlled nuclear weapon state (NWS) in the world. After a brief history of safeguards implementation, the paper will recall the scope of Euratom and IAEA safeguards in France today and how the application of the controls translates in practical terms for French authorities and operators. While underlining the fact that Euratom controls in France are identical to those carried out in EU non-nuclear weapon states, specificities related to France’s NWS status will be explained. In particular, the paper will focus on how nuclear materials of foreign origins are followed, thanks to Euratom and domestic nuclear materials accountancies, and will explain how the peaceful commitments are guaranteed by a three-layers verification system. Finally, the paper will aim to present the latest developments for IAEA safeguards, i.e. complementary accesses and entry into force of the amended SQP for the French territories in the Tlatelolco Treaty area.