force de frappe

/ fɔrs də frap /

noun

1. a military strike force, esp the independent nuclear strike force of France

Word History and Origins

Origin of force de frappe¹

C20: literally: striking force

Example Sentences

The country’s force de frappe, its nuclear strike force, was crucial to its political self-image, and those weapons required, France claimed, the South Seas testing.

From Slate

The lawsuit seems like a commitment to a policy of not merely debating protesters in the court of public opinion, but of going nuclear—utilizing force de frappe to scorch the earth and make an example of them.

From Slate

France clings fiercely to its “force de frappe”.

From The Guardian

Recalling that it was Charles de Gaulle who had first engendered France's force de frappe in the '60s, they accused Chirac of trying to prove his Gaullist credentials and burnish his presidential stature by reaffirming France's status as a nuclear power.

From Time Magazine Archive

The diplomat compares Kim's quest for nuclear power with French President Charles de Gaulle's determination to have his own nuclear force de frappe.

From Time Magazine Archive