A plan to increase France’s arsenal of nuclear warheads and develop defence systems in other European countries is being hailed as a major policy shift by the European Union’s only nuclear power.
French president Emmanuel Macron announced in a speech in a Brittany nuclear submarine base on Monday that France would increase its estimated 290 nuclear warheads and would begin a new strategy of nuclear co-operation with eight other European countries.
The aim is “deterrence”: to dissuade enemies from attacking France by making it clear they would face nuclear annihilation.
“To be free, one needs to be feared,” Macron said in the speech.
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“It is essential that our adversaries, or combination of adversaries, cannot even glimpse the possibility of hitting France without the certainty of suffering damage they would not recover from.”
It comes amid a deteriorating international security environment and uncertainty over the commitment of the United States to defending European allies if they were attacked – something that has upended assumptions about European security dating to the end of the second World War.
What did Macron announce?
Addressing naval officers, Macron announced that the next 50 years would be “an era of nuclear weapons” and that France would increase its number of nuclear warheads. In a reversal of policy, France will no longer disclose how many it has.
A new nuclear-armed submarine, called The Invincible, is to be launched in 2036.
Macron also announced talks had begun with eight European countries that may host French nuclear assets, and whose militaries could take part in French “nuclear activities”.
Will French nuclear weapons be placed across Europe?
Co-operating countries could host French airbases where nuclear bombers would be stationed. With France they would also develop related systems to detect incoming attacks from space, repel drones and missiles, and host long-range missiles.
A nuclear deterrent system “spread out across the depth of the European Continent” would “complicate the calculations of our adversaries”, Macron said.
What kind of attack would trigger a nuclear response has been left deliberately vague, and it is unclear whether an attack on another European country would meet the threshold.
The ultimate responsibility for deciding whether to use nuclear weapons would remain with the French president.
What countries are involved?
German chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that France and Germany had set up a “nuclear steering group” to co-ordinate on “deterrence issues” and that the German military would take part in French nuclear exercises before the end of this year.
It is a new landmark in an alliance between two countries that were once foes.
Discussions have also begun with Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden, Denmark and Poland.
“Poland is in talks with France and a group of closest European allies on the programme of advanced nuclear deterrence,” Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said in a statement.
“We are arming up together with our friends so that our enemies will never dare to attack us.”
Why now?
The announcement came as fresh conflict roiled the Middle East. The timing was a coincidence – the announcement was planned long before the US and Israel attacked Iran – but it underscores the worsening international security situation that motivated the French move.
Macron and other European leaders have stressed that plans for nuclear co-operation would complement, not replace, Nato.
The US keeps nuclear weapons in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Turkey as part of a shared strategy to deter attacks.
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However, fears have grown in Europe under the administration of president Donald Trump that the US can no longer be relied upon to defend European allies if they were attacked.
The French move is a step away from reliance on Washington.
“What I’d like is for Europeans to regain control of their own destiny,” Macron said in his speech.
