Editing Diamant (section)

===Background===
During the late 1940s and 1950s, substantial interest arose amongst the international powers of the era in the development of [[rocket]]ry and [[missile]] technology, in particular the prospects for [[ballistic missile]]s capable of travelling great distances. Both of the emergent [[superpower]]s of the time, the United States and the [[Soviet Union|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] (USSR) chose to invest heavily within this new field, observing its political and military importance; it was not long before a highly competitive atmosphere emerged where neither entity wished to fall behind the other in missile technology, which directly led to the so-called '[[space race]]'.<ref name = "ble gei hub 50 51">Bleeker, Geiss and Huber 2012, pp. 50-51.</ref> In addition, other nations also sought to make headway with this technology, often seeking to exploit and build upon knowledge which had been acquired from [[Nazi Germany]]'s [[V-2 rocket|V2]] programme. In western Europe, both the United Kingdom and France began making significant early steps in this field.<ref name = "ble gei hub 50 51"/><ref name = "turn 8"/>

While Britain forged ahead with programmes such as the [[Black Knight (rocket)|Black Knight]] ballistic missile demonstrator and the military-orientated [[Blue Steel (missile)|Blue Steel]] missile programme, France also made progress on its own efforts.<ref name = "ble gei hub 51">Bleeker, Geiss and Huber 2012, p. 51.</ref> During 1949, the French government established the [[:fr:Laboratoire de recherches balistiques et aérodynamiques|Laboratoire de Recherches Balistiques et Aérodynamiques]] at [[Vernon, Eure|Vernon]], outside [[Paris]], for the purpose of pursuing its own military-focused ballistic missiles programmes. The agency initially conducted relatively straightforward and cost-conscious programmes, such as the development of the V2-based [[Véronique (rocket)|Veronique]] liquid-fuelled rocket in cooperation with a number of German scientists, which first flew during 1954.<ref name = "ble gei hub 51 52">Bleeker, Geiss and Huber 2012, pp. 51-52.</ref> During 1957, having been suitably encouraged by the progress made, the [[Comité d'Action Scientifique de Défense Nationale]] (CASDN) decided to finance further refinements of the Veronique rocket.<ref name = "ble gei hub 52">Bleeker, Geiss and Huber 2012, p. 52.</ref>

During 1958, French wartime military leader [[Charles de Gaulle]] became [[President of France]], establishing the [[French Fifth Republic|Fifth Republic]].<ref name = "ble gei hub 52"/> De Gaulle, who was openly keen to develop a capable and fully independent French nuclear deterrent, determined that French-built missiles could comprise a potent element of the French military's fledgling nuclear arsenal, known as the [[Force de dissuasion|Force de frappe]]; further impetus in favour of missile development was generated by the [[Sputnik crisis]], a fear that other powers were falling behind the Soviet Union's progress in missile development, which had been provoked by the USSR's success with [[Sputnik 1]], the first man-made [[satellite]] to be successfully orbited.<ref name = "ble gei hub 52"/> A greatly expanded and renewed framework for missile-related development was promptly issued alongside generous government support for scientific research; specifically, the new efforts covered technologies such as [[intermediate-range ballistic missile]]s (IRBMs), [[submarine-launched ballistic missile]], and [[reconnaissance satellite]]s.<ref name = "ble gei hub 52"/>