Star Wars: France pledges not to conduct anti-satellite missile tests but leaves other options open

Driven by concerns over space debris, in late November the French Ministry for the Armed Forces formally committed not to conduct anti-satellite missile tests. And yet, France’s space strategy of 2019 resolved to “toughen” the country’s space capabilities.

Given the short lapse of just three years, how can we make sense of France’s seemingly contradictory space military policy?
M51 (missile)...By Rama - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6265834...Author
by Thomas G. Chevalier
Chercheur Doctoral (Technologie, Relations Internationales, et Affaires Militaires) | Doctoral Researcher (Technology, International Relations, and Military Affairs), University of Kent

Disclosure statement
Thomas G. Chevalier received a Vice Chancellor’s Research Scholarship from the University of Kent for his research.