AP
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French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that France would increase the number of nuclear warheads it has from its current level of less than 300, but did not say how many. This is the first time France has expanded its nuclear arsenal since at least 1992.
“I have decided to increase the number of warheads in our arsenal,” President Macron said at the military base in Lillelong, in northwestern France, where the country’s ballistic missile submarines are deployed.
“My responsibility is to ensure that our deterrence remains and remains a destructive force,” Macron said.
Macron’s speech aimed to spell out how France’s nuclear arsenal fits into European security, as repeated tensions with US President Donald Trump raise concerns on the continent.
European leaders are increasingly questioning U.S. efforts to help Europe defend itself under the so-called nuclear umbrella. This policy has long been intended to ensure that allies, particularly NATO members, are protected by U.S. nuclear forces in the event of a threat.
France is the only nuclear-armed state in the European Union.
“If we have to use weapons, no country, no matter how powerful, can protect itself from it, and no country, no matter how vast, can recover from it,” Macron said.
Some European countries have already accepted Macron’s proposal last year to discuss France’s nuclear deterrent and partner with European partners on nuclear exercises.
Earlier this month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he had “initial discussions” with President Macron on the issue and publicly theorized about the possibility that Luftwaffe planes were being used to deliver French nuclear bombs.
In July, France and the United Kingdom also adopted a joint declaration allowing their nuclear forces to remain independent but “cooperate.” The UK is no longer an EU member, but a NATO ally and the only other European country with a nuclear deterrent.
President Macron has consistently insisted that any decision regarding France’s use of nuclear weapons rests solely in the hands of the French president.
