(1) as many others have already pointed out France really is part of NATO<p>(2) France has something they label the &#x27;force de frappe&#x27;, which, though vastly reduced could turn a relatively large area of desert into a parking lot overnight, so even if they are part of NATO they don&#x27;t actually need it to respond on an extremely high casualty level if the French get pissed off enough. Fortunately, France is one of the more levelheaded nuclear powers and has - to date - not even put that option on the table. But I would not take that as a given or forever.