A powerful message is resonating across France: from Paris to Marseille, from Lyon to the smallest towns, 100 French cities and regions have now joined the ICAN Cities Appeal, calling on the French government to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
This milestone marks a growing national movement of citizens, mayors, and local representatives who refuse to accept the threat that nuclear weapons pose to their communities. France’s major urban centres - Paris, Marseille, Lyon - as well as small municipalities and regions from every corner of the country are united in a common demand: a future free from nuclear weapons.
Why Cities Have a Legitimate Voice
Cities are not only centres of life, culture, and innovation, they are also the primary targets of nuclear weapons. If these weapons were ever used, it is cities and their inhabitants that would be obliterated first.
Ample research and humanitarian evidence make this clear: no adequate emergency or medical response would be possible after the detonation of even a single nuclear weapon over an urban area. The destruction would be near-total, the radiation deadly and lasting, and the suffering unimaginable.
The haunting images of Hiroshima in 1945, levelled in an instant by one bomb far smaller than today’s nuclear warheads, are a permanent reminder of what is at stake. To this day, survivors continue to bear witness to the horror of nuclear war, urging the world to ensure that such devastation is never repeated.
Cities therefore have both the right and the responsibility to speak out. Local leaders are closest to the people who would be most affected, and they have a duty to protect their citizens’ safety and future. Their call for disarmament is a call for survival.
What the Cities Appeal Is About
The ICAN Cities Appeal is a global campaign through which municipalities express their support for the TPNW, the first international treaty that comprehensively prohibits nuclear weapons, just as the world has banned chemical and biological weapons.
By joining the appeal, cities and regions commit to:
- Support the TPNW and urge their national government to join it;
- Raise awareness about the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons;
- Promote dialogue and education around peace, security, and disarmament.
Across France, local campaigners, peace groups, and citizens have been working tirelessly to secure council votes, meet with local leaders, and spread awareness about the risks of nuclear weapons stationed and financed in their name. Their efforts are reshaping the political landscape, community by community.
A Clear Message to the French Government
France continues to invest billions of euros each year in the maintenance and modernisation of its nuclear arsenal. The French government has even recently proposed to expand the circumstances under which its nuclear weapons could be used, including in response to a nuclear attack on other countries in Europe. The growing number of cities joining the ICAN appeal shows that the French public is ahead of its government in recognising that nuclear weapons do not bring security, only danger.
“When one hundred cities and regions call on the government to join the TPNW, it is a signal that cannot be ignored,” said Jean-Marie Collin, director of ICAN France. “France has the chance to show leadership and align itself with the global majority working for a safer world free of nuclear weapons.”
A Movement That Keeps Growing
France now joins other countries where the Cities Appeal has become a powerful expression of democratic will, including in many countries where the government is trying to ignore the TPNW. Well over 100 cities in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain respectively have also called on their governments to join the TPNW. The movement continues to expand, driven by local action and international solidarity.
Explore the full list of French cities and regions that have joined the appeal: https://cities.icanw.org/france