Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will increase its nuclear arsenal – saying France needs to be “scared” on the world stage.
The French The president allows his nuclear-armed aircraft to be temporarily deployed to allies for the first time.
The move is part of a new strategy aimed at strengthening Europe’s independence Increased geopolitical pressureBut it has been condemned by disarmament campaigners.
“To be free, one must be afraid,” Macron said Monday at a military base on Isle Long.
The base in northwestern France hosts the country’s ballistic missile submarines.
France’s Rafale jets, used to transport nuclear weapons, fly overhead ahead of Macron’s speech on Monday. Image: Reuters
Macron He said the new posture would “provide for the temporary deployment of elements of our strategic air forces to allies,” but insisted that decision-making about the deployment would remain solely with France.
Since then BrexitThe country is the only nuclear power in the European Union.
It is understood that his speech was planned before the recent war in Iran.
Macron added that Britain, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark are currently locked in negotiations on the ban.
France also allows European partners to join preventive exercises that are welcomed across the continent.
In a joint statement, Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz He said the two countries would deepen integration on deterrence from this year, “including traditional German participation in French nuclear exercises and joint visits to strategic locations”.
Macron pledged to increase France’s nuclear arsenal in response to growing global instability. Image: Reuters
In a letter to Dutch politicians, Defense Minister Dilan Yesilgoj-Jegerius and Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said the Netherlands’ strategic dialogue with France on nuclear deterrence “is a complement and not a replacement for NATO’s collective defense and nuclear deterrence capabilities”.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote in X that “we are armed together with our friends so that our enemies never dare to attack us”.
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France is increasing its number of warheads for the first time in 34 years.
They currently stand at less than 300, although Mr Macron did not say how many more his country could manage.
“I have decided to increase the number of warheads in our arsenal,” Macron said.
“It is my responsibility to ensure that our deterrence maintains – and will continue to maintain – its assured destructive power.
“If we have to use our arsenal, no state, however powerful, will be able to protect itself from it and no state, however vast, will be able to recover from it,” Macron said.
However, he ruled out the possibility of using German air force planes to transport French nuclear bombs – an idea floated by Merz last month.
European leaders have voiced growing concern Doubts about America’s commitments to help protect Europe after President Donald Trump took office last year.
Macron’s speech took place in front of France’s Le Temeraire nuclear submarine. Image: Reuters
France and Britain adopted a joint declaration in July that allows both nations’ nuclear forces to be “coordinated” while independent.
The move has prompted outrage from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.
The group’s executive director, Melissa Parke, said: “This announcement by French President Macron is a direct threat to the peace and security of the region and the world.
“France has already spent $6 billion on its nuclear weapons by 2024 and it is unclear how much this unexpected increase will add to that exorbitant amount.
“This is not progress, this is a nuclear arms race that no one can afford.”
