The CIA Declassified Reports on The French Nuclear Weapons Program (1959)

... weapon would be of the implosion type. The CIA underlines France’s nuclear research was lacking behind Washington and London, while Moscow was not mentioned in the report at all. According to the report, Paris did not want to collaborate with the USA and the UK, while also rejecting a possible cooperation with the USSR. Overall, the 1959 report reinforces the idea of a French policy between the NATO and the Soviet Union. In terms of estimates, the CIA envisages a first test around November 1959 ...