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Missiles to Be Deployed Near Nuclear Plant in Northwestern France
Ground-to-air missiles will be deployed Friday near the nuclear re-processing plant in La Hague, province of Manche in northwestern France, the French Defense Ministry announced on Thursday.
The missiles, which were ferried near the site earlier, will not be installed until Friday, said general Alain Raevel, deputy spokesman of the ministry.
The deployment is part of a global security plan over the whole of the French territory, he said.
"They are situated in a crescent-shaped zone that englobes the north and east part of the nuclear site," said captain Hugues Cholley, chief of the installation. He refused to disclose the number of the missiles, however.
There will be less than 30 seconds between the moment that targets such as suspicious planes are detected and the moment that they are hit down by missiles, said captain Cholley, adding that about 120 servicemen are mobilized to deploy the missiles.
The French Defense Ministry last week announced that reinforced protection zones will be set up around nuclear plants, major dams, large-scale industrial installations and greater urban areas across the country.
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