[Hiroshima 50. evfordulojan:]
France's Chirac can't go back on nuclear testing
French President Jacques Chirac cannot go back on his decision to
resume nuclear testing in the South Pacific and has no choice but to
pay the increasingly high political and economic price, diplomats and
French experts say. ``Chirac has put his authority as president and
France's credibility as a nuclear power on the line. He cannot back
down however high the cost gets,'' a senior Western diplomat said.
Chirac's staff are unimpressed by threats of trade boycotts and by
an opinion poll showing that 56 percent of French voters think his
decision to end a three-year test freeze was wrong and 60 percent
want him to change his mind. Government officials and major French
firms are playing down the cost in possible lost contracts and
sporadic consumer boycotts in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and north
Europe. Officials say the president is convinced the long-term
benefits of enhancing a credible nuclear deterrent far outweigh
short-term commercial risks. Chirac has said France will sign a
treaty banning all tests after 1996. Source: Reuters
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