The first is to be informed and able to foresee developments. In other words, to have the ability to know in advance what possible threats exist and which potential adversaries pose the greatest danger to the country and its army. Attached to this is the country's readiness to counter and prevent such threats from becoming a destructive reality.

The second concerns pre-emptive initiative. It provides for the use of all possible means, ranging from diplomatic through legal to military, to forestall the escalation of a possible threat into a serious conflict involving arms.

The third principle is deterrence, including nuclear deterrence. It is one of the key factors for national security and, in the opinion of the authors, the most reliable guarantee of France's independence. Its prime aim is to prevent acts of aggression by any other country and protect the state's national interests. The paper gives a detailed list of the type and number of France's nuclear weapons, and envisages the core of the nuclear deterrent being formed of new-generation nuclear submarines with new strategic missiles, as well as air-launched cruise missiles carried by Rafale and Mirage multirole fighters.

One more basic principle is defense. Or, to give a fuller description, the direct protection, by military and police methods, of the security of the population and the territorial integrity of France, and society's ability to recover from a severe crisis and go on living as before.

To fulfill this function, it is planned to create a variety of engineering and information and communication networks, including in space, and early warning systems, and to provide 10,000 troops to the civilian services when it is necessary to respond to emergencies and natural disasters.

The French armed forces also will use the principle of intervention. Importantly, no distinction is made between warning and intervention. They are seen here as one undivided action, especially in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Gulf, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, eastern and western African coast, and French Guiana, which France views as its regions of national interest.

The document stresses, though, that the armed forces will be used abroad only when and where "proposed measures of a different nature have failed to bring the desired result or the emergency requires the immediate application of the 'duty to defend' principle."

The white paper also dedicates a lot of space to cooperation with the European Union and NATO. For France, the EU comes first. Paris wants to make this organization the preferred tool for resolving critical situations, and for this a common system of European security must be set up.

At the same time, however, the Elysee Palace believes the European Union should cooperate with NATO, a key player in ensuring international security. NATO is itself in need of drastic reform, and France is prepared to work more closely at all levels with the North Atlantic Alliance while preserving the three main conditions set out by President Charles de Gaulle in the1960s: full independence of strategic nuclear forces, freedom of action and freedom of decision-making. No troop contingent of the French Fifth Republic may be under the control of a unified NATO military command in peacetime.

The white paper has many other interesting things to say. But its defining feature is that it sets forth a clear-cut program for the medium-term development of the country's armed forces. It even lists all purchases of combat equipment by the Defense Ministry, including the number of infantry equipment sets. Such openness in the military establishment can only be dreamed of in Russia.

(Nikita Petrov is a Russian military commentator. This article is published by permission of the RIA Novosti news agency. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.)

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

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