408 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies N. 6 / 2015 adapt the architecture of French security to the post-Cold War, and to set the bases for the defense of the country for the 21st century.12 Two types of national interests were recognized: the vital interests (territorial integrity, maritime and air accesses, free exercise of sovereignty, and the protection of the population), and the strategic ones (peace in Europe, the Mediterranean basin, and the Middle East; security of the energy supplies, and commercial imports and exports from outside Europe, responsibilities derived from the international position of France, especially as member of the United Nations Security Council). To guarantee the international role of France, a European dimension of security and defense would be promoted through the revitalization of the Western European Union, and the support to initiatives such as the Euro corps or the creation of an aero-naval joint force among France, Spain, and Italy. The North Atlantic Alliance was considered an essential pillar of European security, and the achievement of the transatlantic bond; thus, assuming new responsibilities. Nonetheless, the principles adopted in 1966 were still valid: non-integration in the military structure, free readiness of the armed forces, and the independence of nuclear power. Finally, the role of France in the United Nations pivoted around its membership in the Security Council, and the support to peacekeeping operations, as long as the latter would not come into conflict with national interests. Nuclear deterrence was considered essential to the vital interests and the political independence of the country, although it was recognized that in the years to come, its importance would have to decrease in national defense. Likewise, the Elysée Palace was willing to participate in the elaboration of a European nuclear doctrine as long as the full atomic autonomy of the country was kept. Conventional forces needed an in-depth revision because the model inherited from the Cold War was obsolete. From then on, they should be prepared to prevent conflicts through cooperation and military assistance, and keeping the units pre-positioned; to attain technological, tactical, and doctrinal superiority, and to undertake a wide range of tasks, from support to peace to high intensity actions in a multinational environment, and the protection of the national territory, of its air space, and its accesses. Six scenarios for the use of the armed forces were outlined, of different dimensions and different levels of military involvement: • A regional conflict that would not affect France. The intervention would be carried out within a multinational framework, as a projection of power with advanced weaponry and special operational forces, or as a projection of forces, with ground units. 12 Ministry of Defense, White Paper of Defense 1994, París: Documentation Française, 1994. http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee
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