Macron prepares France for ‘nuclear age’ as Iran war rages | US-Israel war over Iran news

Paris, France – A couple of days after the United States and Israel launched their attacks on Iran, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on March 2 that France would strengthen its nuclear arsenal and strengthen ties with fellow European Union countries.

He called the policy “forward deterrence.”

With the speech, Macron staged a show of strength in a rapidly changing world where European allies are reluctant to rely on US nuclear defenses.

France currently has the fourth largest nuclear arsenal in the world.

“As you understand, what I want above all is for Europeans to take control of their destiny,” Macron said.

The announcement raises questions about Europe’s strategic future.

Some described it as a watershed moment for European security, but the rhetoric was mainly a strong affirmation of France’s long-standing nuclear policy, said geopolitical analyst Grégoire Rous.

“Since the French acquired nuclear weapons in the sixties, the French have had a definition of the concept of vital interest that projects beyond national borders,” Rouse said. “The French have never thought of nuclear deterrence in an exclusively national context, at least from a geographical point of view … there has always been a strong European dimension.”

France is vague about the exact geographic scope of its “core interests,” but its focus extends beyond the country’s borders.

“For France, Macron has highlighted the fact that the scope of the core interest is larger than many think,” Roos said. “It’s also important to be vague when it comes to the exact geographic scope of your core interests.”

France’s ‘Equilibrium Act’

Macron’s policy reiterates the doctrine of French nuclear strategy adopted by General Charles de Gaulle, the first president of the country’s Fifth Republic.

Rouse noted that Gaullist policy viewed nuclear deterrence as a guarantee of France’s territorial integrity and political independence.

“This is a balancing act. The president reminded everyone that the nuclear deterrent remains sovereign. There is no such thing as sharing nuclear codes or nuclear weapons decisions,” Rouse said.

Reiterating the ambiguity, France stops communicating the number of its nuclear warheads. Currently, the country has approximately 290 warheads.

France plans to cooperate more closely with the United Kingdom, the only neighboring country with nuclear weapons, along with Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark.

“There is a clear desire and ability to project nuclear power outside national territory through localization, for example, French jet fighters carrying nuclear weapons on the territory of other European countries,” Rouse said.

Decisions on nuclear program as Iran war escalates

With conflict escalating in the Middle East, Iran’s nuclear program is at the forefront of debate.

While France opposes Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, Macron has condemned US and Israeli attacks on the country, calling the attacks illegal and outside international law.

“The French are very clear on the issue of Iran’s nuclear program. But threats emanating from the country cannot be resolved militarily, let alone with regime change,” Laure Faucher, a researcher at the French think tank Foundation for Strategic Research, or FRS, told Al Jazeera.

“(The French) always support a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue in Iran,” added Foucher.

France has a complicated history with Iran.

In 1974, Iran expressed interest in France’s nuclear technology and signed an agreement where Iran became a 10 percent shareholder in Eurodif, a French uranium enrichment company. The uranium was intended to be used in Iran’s civilian nuclear power development.

“The goal of Iran’s nuclear program is not military. But it is clear that when you develop civilian nuclear technology, inevitably, the military possibility is entered,” Iran’s late former foreign minister Ardeshir Zahedi said in an interview with French radio station RFI.

In 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini rose to power in an Islamic revolution and tensions rose. Tehran demanded repayment of a loan to Eurodif for the production. But the French government denied that because of the revolution, Iran had not fulfilled its obligations to its shareholders.

Relations deteriorated and several French journalists and diplomats were kidnapped by members of Islamic Jihad in Lebanon. He demanded that France repay its debt to Iran and stop supplying weapons to Saddam Hussein in Iraq. The French government refused.

During this period, Iran was accused of indirectly sponsoring several attacks in France. In 1986, a bomb exploded in Paris, killing seven people and injuring 55.

Finally, the French government agreed in 1988 to pay most of the Eurodif loan in exchange for hostages in Lebanon. Three years later, the remaining debt was settled with a $1 billion payment to Iran.

‘Age of Geopolitical Acceleration’

France signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, in 2015, which significantly limited Tehran’s nuclear program rather than easing some sanctions on the country. But in 2018, Trump withdrew the US from the deal and Iran resumed operations.

“Although the Europeans are on the sidelines in the negotiations between the United States and Iran, France is engaged in diplomatic efforts,” Foucher noted.

Macron’s announcement comes at a time when Europe is working to stand strong independent of the US and its nuclear umbrella.

“We live in an era of geopolitical acceleration in which traditional threats and wars are quickly returning,” Rouse said. “Therefore there is a feeling that the nuclear option should appear on the table.”

“We are in another strategic universe,” Macron said in his speech.

“The next half century will be the age of nuclear weapons.”

Despite strong rhetoric, France faces an uphill battle to bolster its capabilities.

“You need a bigger budget. That means at least 100 billion euros ($115 billion) a year, and that doesn’t come with more debt. It comes with less spending in other areas,” Roos said. “To make it sustainable, the French need to increase their defense spending substantially.”

Macron’s presidency ends in about a year, with elections scheduled for April 2027.

“They are very vulnerable domestically,” Roos said. “Macron has only retained the world stage because, constitutionally, he is the master of foreign and defense policy, if I may say so. He knows he has a year left to truly cement his legacy as the man who woke Europe up after decades of sleepwalking.”

To succeed, Macron needs to strengthen European alliances, including coordination for the EU’s nuclear umbrella.

“He knows that if his legacy in Europe is not clear then there is no legacy in global affairs and foreign policy,” Roos said.