SP
BravenNow
Macron says France will increase its nuclear arsenal, allow temporary deployment of nuclear-armed jets to European allies
| USA | world | ✓ Verified - pbs.org

Macron says France will increase its nuclear arsenal, allow temporary deployment of nuclear-armed jets to European allies

#Nuclear arsenal #European security #Macron #Nuclear deterrence #Strategic autonomy #France #NATO #Disarmament

📌 Key Takeaways

  • France will increase its nuclear arsenal and allow temporary deployment of nuclear-armed aircraft to European allies
  • Talks about nuclear arrangements have begun with multiple European countries including Britain, Germany, Poland, and others
  • France will be the first to increase its nuclear arsenal since 1992, though no specific figure was given
  • European partners welcomed the new strategy while disarmament campaigners expressed criticism

📖 Full Retelling

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday at a military base in L'Ile Longue, northwestern France, that France will increase its nuclear arsenal and for the first time allow the temporary deployment of its nuclear-armed aircraft to allied European countries, in a new strategy aimed at strengthening Europe's independence amid concerns about US commitments and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Macron specified that the new posture could 'provide for the temporary deployment of elements of our strategic air forces to allied countries,' but emphasized that there would be no sharing of decision-making with any other nation regarding the use of nuclear weapons. Talks about such arrangements have already begun with Britain, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark. The announcement comes amid growing European doubts about US commitments to defend the continent under the nuclear umbrella, with Macron stating that recent changes in US defense strategy have demonstrated a refocusing of American priorities and encouraged Europe to take more direct responsibility for its security. Macron also revealed that France will increase its number of nuclear warheads from the current level of below 300, marking the first such increase since at least 1992, though he did not specify the exact figure of the increase. European partners welcomed the new strategy, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Macron announcing deeper integration in deterrence, including German conventional participation in French nuclear exercises. Meanwhile, disarmament campaigners criticized the move, with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons warning it could cost billions of euros, jeopardize France's international commitments, and potentially provoke Russia.

🏷️ Themes

Nuclear deterrence, European security, Strategic autonomy, Arms control

📚 Related People & Topics

List of states with nuclear weapons

List of states with nuclear weapons

There are currently nine sovereign states that are generally understood to possess nuclear weapons, though only eight formally acknowledge possessing them. In order of first successful nuclear test, the world's nine nuclear-armed states are the United States (1945), Russia (1949), the United Kingdom...

View Profile → Wikipedia ↗

Macron

Topics referred to by the same term

Macron may refer to:

View Profile → Wikipedia ↗
Deterrence theory

Deterrence theory

Military strategy during the Cold War with regard to the use of nuclear weapons

Deterrence theory refers to the scholarship and practice of how threats of using force by one party can convince another party to refrain from initiating some other course of action. The central problem of deterrence revolves around how to credibly threaten military action or nuclear punishment on t...

View Profile → Wikipedia ↗

Strategic autonomy

Ability of a state to act without outside help

Strategic autonomy is defined as the ability of a state to pursue its national interests and adopt its preferred foreign policy without depending heavily on other foreign states. In the European context, strategic autonomy is the ability of the European Union to not be overly reliant on the United S...

View Profile → Wikipedia ↗

Entity Intersection Graph

No entity connections available yet for this article.

Mentioned Entities

List of states with nuclear weapons

List of states with nuclear weapons

There are currently nine sovereign states that are generally understood to possess nuclear weapons,

Macron

Topics referred to by the same term

Deterrence theory

Deterrence theory

Military strategy during the Cold War with regard to the use of nuclear weapons

Strategic autonomy

Ability of a state to act without outside help

}
Original Source
By — Sylvie Corbet, Associated Press Sylvie Corbet, Associated Press By — Samuel Petrequin, Associated Press Samuel Petrequin, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Macron says France will increase its nuclear arsenal, allow temporary deployment of nuclear-armed jets to European allies World Mar 2, 2026 12:59 PM EST L'ILE LONGUE, France — French President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday that France will increase its nuclear arsenal and for the first time allow the temporary deployment of its nuclear-armed aircraft to allied countries, in a new strategy aimed at strengthening Europe's independence. Macron made the announcements during a speech outlining his country's nuclear strategy at a military base at L'Ile Longue in northwestern France that hosts the country's ballistic missile submarines. READ MORE: World reacts as U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran sprawl into regional war "To be free, one needs to be feared," Macron said. Macron said the new posture could "provide for the temporary deployment of elements of our strategic air forces to allied countries," but said there would be no sharing of decision-making with any other nation regarding the use of the nuclear weapons. Talks about such arrangements have started with Britain, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark, Macron said. Macron's long-planned speech, scheduled before the most recent outbreak of hostilities in Iran, was aimed at spelling out how French nuclear weapons fit into Europe's security amid concerns raised on the continent by recurring tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. France also will allow partners to participate in deterrence exercises and allow allies' non-nuclear forces to participate in France's nuclear activities, said Macron, who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces under the French constitution. European...
Read full article at source

Source

pbs.org

More from USA

News from Other Countries

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇺🇦 Ukraine