WHEN French President Jacques Chirac arrives in the United States on Thursday he will have a perfect opportunity to put a year of international condemnation in the past and help set the world on a path towards a non-nuclear future.
Paris still refuses to confirm its South Pacific testing programme is now complete, following a sixth explosion at the weekend. Ostensibly this is because more time is needed to analyse whether enough computer data has been gathered from the latest blast to render further tests unnecessary. But hopefully the real reason will prove to be giving President Chirac the publicity coup of officially announcing the end to testing during this week's meeting with President Bill Clinton in Washington.
Any such announcement would represent a major boost to the chances of concluding a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty that will permanently put an end to all further nuclear testing.
Throughout the past year, France and China have been the two main obstacles to this. Both claim to be conducting tests purely to facilitate their participation in the treaty negotiations. But if Paris now calls an end to its programme of explosions, then pressure will increase on Beijing to do likewise.
Although unfortunate and unnecessary, the South Pacific testing programme may ultimately prove to have served a useful purpose. By demonstrating the extent of Asian and worldwide outrage against such tests, it has helped to focus the minds of nuclear powers on the importance of ensuring this year's negotiations succeed. It should also make them realise they can never follow in France's footsteps.
