GENEVA -- France has taken a gamble with its decision to resume nuclear tests, hoping it can ride out a storm of international protest and keep disarmament plans on track while serving its own defense interests.


Despite the growing chorus of criticism from all over the world, diplomats say it is a bet that new President Jacques Chirac is likely to win.


Chirac said Tuesday that France would resume testing in September and hold eight tests within the next year to ensure the safety of its arsenal.


Paris argues that it is fully committed to completing a global treaty banning nuclear tests next year, a position taken by the world's four other declared nuclear powers -- the United States, Britain, Russia and China.


"In some ways, France has made it easier to conclude the test ban treaty now because it has ended uncertainty about its position," said a diplomat.


"There is such momentum behind the test ban that it would take far more than this to derail it."


The treaty is seen as an important tool in not only halting the spread of nuclear weapons but forcing nuclear states to further reduce their arsenals.


China, the only state to continue tests in the last few years, has been heavily criticized but diplomats say it has not suffered really serious consequences.


Beijing provoked an angry response from the United States and Russia when it set off a nuclear blast in May. In contrast, reaction from other nuclear powers to the French decision has been muted.


The United States expressed regret -- a mild diplomatic rebuke. Japan, which cut back grants to China in protest last month, was more critical but diplomats said Tokyo was unlikely to take any punitive measures against France.


However, there are also questions about whether the French action will undermine the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, made permanent last month by 170 nations, including France, that is aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.


Former French Socialist prime minister Laurent Fabius said Chirac's decision was a "slap in the face" for the other states which agreed to extend the NPT.