Sure, everyone points to France when talking about nuclear fission - adoption, abandonment, success, failure - taken over the past 50 years they've got it all.

Sure, everyone points to France when talking about nuclear fission - adoption, abandonment, success, failure - taken over the past 50 years they've got it all. France would have been subject to pressure from the USA at the time, so it's certainly a notable anomaly from this angle, as well as several others. I think this makes it an interesting case study, but doesn't (given it's such an exceptional example) explain the phenomenon we're talking about.