The track record and commitment of France to nuclear disarmament are exemplary. France has never participated in a nuclear arms race and has no intention of doing so. It applies the principle of strict sufficiency: it maintains its stockpile at the lowest possible level compatible with its strategic context. French policy on nuclear deterrence, which applies only in extreme circumstances involving legitimate defence, a right enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, does not run counter to international law, as was recalled in the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 1996.