French President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday afternoon that he has decided to expand France’s nuclear arsenal for the first time in decades, citing the need to strengthen the nuclear deterrence of Paris and of Europe as a whole in the face of mounting threats.
Macron spoke against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war, which entered its fifth year about a week ago, and the Israeli-American war against Iran, developments that come amid what appears to be a dramatically shifting world order.
In a speech delivered in the afternoon at a submarine base in Brittany, France, Macron said he decided to expand the nuclear arsenal because of a growing risk of global confrontations that could cross the “nuclear threshold.”
“We are currently experiencing a period of geopolitical upheaval fraught with risks,” he said, adding that a “hardening” of France’s nuclear doctrine is required and that Paris will therefore enter a new phase of “advanced deterrence.”
France currently has fewer than 300 nuclear warheads, and the last time it expanded that arsenal was in 1992, if not earlier. Since Britain left the European Union, France has remained the bloc’s only nuclear power. In his speech, Macron sought to clarify how Paris’ nuclear weapons would now be integrated into the defense of the continent’s overall security.
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French fighter jets escort the president on his way to deliver the speech
(Photo: Yoan VALAT / POOL / AFP)
Over the past year, European leaders have voiced growing doubts about the United States’ commitment to helping defend Europe under the American nuclear umbrella, a policy that for decades was intended to ensure that Washington’s European allies, particularly those in NATO, would be protected by U.S. nuclear capabilities in the event of a threat.
In light of those doubts, Macron last year proposed that European countries discuss France’s nuclear deterrence doctrine and even take part in nuclear exercises with France. Several European states have already responded positively to the proposal. In his speech Monday afternoon, Macron said Germany would play a central role in the new “advanced deterrence” project.
He also cited Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark as countries that would join the French effort, and said France, Britain and Germany would work together on a long-range missile project.
In his remarks at the submarine base, Macron noted that in France the decision to use nuclear weapons rests solely with the president, and he stressed that decision-making authority regarding nuclear arms would remain exclusively in his hands. He warned of the possibility of “a flare-up on our borders,” and after announcing that he had ordered an increase in the number of nuclear warheads, he added: “We will not provide information about their number in the future.”
Macron also said that under certain circumstances France could allow the deployment of certain “strategic assets” on the territory of its allies. He emphasized that the reformulation of France’s nuclear doctrine is being carried out in a transparent manner with the United States and Britain.