The 11th review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) opened on 27 April at UN headquarters in New York. Signed by 191 countries — including Iran — and in force since 1970, the NPT is one of the few universal arms-control texts still standing, with other major treaties (New Start on US-Russia warheads, INF on intermediate-range missiles) either expired or torn up.
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that "France will not let this edifice waver", at a moment when "the risk of nuclear proliferation has never been higher". China's arsenal has grown from fewer than 300 warheads three years ago to between 600 and 1,000 today, with little transparency; Russia has repeatedly issued nuclear threats since invading Ukraine; the recognised nuclear-weapon states spent $100.2bn modernising their arsenals in 2024, according to ICAN. The previous conferences (2015 and 2022) failed to produce a joint declaration and no one expects a breakthrough in New York this year either.
Diplomatically, France is pushing the "advanced nuclear deterrence" concept that Emmanuel Macron unveiled at Île Longue on 2 March: eight European countries (Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom) are in detailed talks with Paris to associate themselves with it. Saudi Arabia, on the other side of the Gulf rift, has signed a defence pact with Pakistan, a nuclear power that is not an NPT signatory. Source: Les Echos, 27 April 2026, Anne Bauer.