France on Thursday successfully carried out a first test on its new M-51 ballistic missile which is to carry submarine-based nuclear weapons, the defence ministry said.
The unarmed missile was fired over the Bay of Biscay from a launch test centre on France's southern Atlantic coast.
The M51, with a range of some 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles), is to replace France's existing submarine-based missiles by 2010.
"This test flight was carried out ... in conformity with all France's international commitments concerning safety, transparency and non-proliferation," a ministry statement said.
Manufactured by the European consortium EADS, the M-51 is 12 metres (39 feet) in length and weighs around 50 tonnes. It has a cruising altitude of 1,000 metres and will carry six nuclear warheads.