After a first edition in Brussels in 2024, the second nuclear summit opens on Tuesday 10 March in Paris in the presence of representatives of some sixty countries. The stated objective is to give a new impetus to the civilian use of nuclear weapons around the world, at a time when the war in the Middle East underlines the fragility of economies dependent on fossil fuels.

For France and Western countries, it is also a question of promoting their technologies to states that wish to develop nuclear energy, in order to compete with Russia and China in this market.

But as the war in the Middle East continues for the past ten days, the issue of the proliferation of military nuclear weapons is expected to be widely discussed during the discussions.

Today, nuclear power accounts for 10% of the electricity produced in the world, with 450 reactors, in some thirty countries. For the Élysée, this summit should encourage the construction of nuclear power plants in as many countries as possible in order, according to the French presidency, to "contribute to the energy transition and ensure the independence of everyone".

The country, one of the world's leading civilian nuclear powers with 57 reactors, hopes to see "a new dynamic" emerge in line with the COP28 declaration in Dubai aimed at tripling installed nuclear capacity by 2050.

The risk of proliferation under debate

One question remains: can the development of civil nuclear power promote the development of military nuclear power? Emmanuelle Galichet, a lecturer and researcher in nuclear physics, believes that the two programmes are based on different foundations. "Just because we have a civilian nuclear program does not mean that we will be able to make a military nuclear program. Technically, there are still very different things," she told Pierre Olivier for RFI.

However, it specifies that the skills acquired in the civilian sector can, in some cases, be reoriented towards the military. "Based on the skills created around civil nuclear power, we can redirect them towards military nuclear power. But you can see that this is a political project," continues the teacher-researcher.

To better control the use of nuclear power by states, the researcher advocates for a strengthening of the international legal framework. "First and foremost, when we develop nuclear energy, we should be a democracy," she said, adding that this could be enshrined in the international legal architecture. "There should be a confidence clause. The watchword is to be responsible."

Several experts also recommend that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) be given more legal means to strengthen its control capacities. (RFI, 2026-03-10)