blackmail, wherever it comes from. They make the very undertaking of war irrational". There is, therefore, no point in trying today to reopen a moral or ethical trial of the nuclear component of deterrence; it has to be measured by the yardstick of stability - past, present and future. As I have often stressed in this forum, the debate on nuclear deterrence remains open and it is part of our work. Our view is that, far from calling in question this notion, progress in nuclear disarmament would tend to confirm its soundness. The efforts made by the United States and the USSR to remedy the harmful effects of the over-abundance of strategic weapons, consolidate the specific role of nuclear deterrence, that is, to make war impossible. The CD/PV.570 9 (Mr. Morel, France) characteristic of deterrence is, indeed, to keep strategic arms at the level that is strictly necessary. When the means of deterrence become more than sufficient, they nourish the destabilizing prospect of a temptation on someone's part to wage a war with a view to winning it. Our country, therefore, has always considered that deterrence is defensive by its very nature. It precludes all superfluity, but it implies the maintenance of forces' credibility and the exercise of technological vigilance taking into account the state of the international environment and cannot, in the present circumstances, do without nuclear experiments. This, then, is the fundamental reason for our position of principle on the question of a nuclear test ban, a ban to which we cannot subscribe in the form now given to it, namely that of a kind of preliminary to nuclear disarmament. The halting of tests is an integral, inseparable part of the whole of nuclear disarmament. While continuing with its experiments, France has recently reduced the 
**Analysis**
This text appears to be a diplomatic statement or speech from a French official, discussing the country's position on nuclear deterrence, disarmament, and testing. The language used is formal and technical, indicating a focus on international relations, security, and defense policy. The text mentions specific countries (France, the United States, and the USSR) and international organizations (CD/PV), suggesting a focus on international politics and diplomacy.

**Category**
International relations, Science and technology