PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says that he’s ready to start discussions on nuclear deterrence with European allies.
Macron has hinted that France could help to protect other nations after U.S. President Donald Trump raised questions both about the trans-Atlantic alliance and the defense of Ukraine.
While Macron’s offering has been on the table for several years, it has gained urgency after Trump’s remarks raised concerns among European NATO allies, which have for decades counted on the powerful U.S. deterrent.
Here’s a look at France’s nuclear policy.
What’s nuclear deterrence?
Nuclear deterrence is a strategy based on the idea that the destructive force of nuclear weapons would prevent other nations’ hostile actions, particularly nuclear attacks.
During the Cold War, the U.S. nuclear umbrella was aimed at ensuring that allies, especially NATO members, would be protected by American nuclear forces in case of a threat. That’s one of the reasons why many nations across the world haven’t pursued their own nuclear arsenals.
France is the only nuclear power in the European Union. The United Kingdom, which is no longer an EU member but is working on restoring closer ties with the 27-nation bloc and belongs to NATO, also has nuclear weapons.
In the wake of Trump’s push for Europe to carry the defense burden, German election winner Friedrich Merz recently called for a discussion on “nuclear sharing” with France.
EU leaders are set to address the issue during a special summit in Brussels on Thursday, focusing on support for Ukraine and European defense. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer won’t be attending the summit. The only non-EU guest is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Protecting France and Europe
France’s nuclear deterrence is strictly conceived as defensive. It is meant to protect the country’s “vital interests.”
Although France is a NATO member, it independently maintains its nuclear forces, cooperating with the alliance’s broader deterrence strategy.
Since a 2020 keynote speech, Macron has said that France’s “vital interests” have a “European dimension” — comments that he reiterated in recent days.
“What may be new today … is the somewhat urgent nature of these comments and how they are perceived abroad,” said Emmanuelle Maitre, senior research fellow at France’s Foundation for Strategic Research.
“Obviously, faced with the feeling of abandonment felt by NATO countries, there’s some kind of logical search for what might enable them to keep some form of deterrence mission within Europe,” Maitre said.
Fourth nuclear arsenal in the world
Nuclear deterrence involves maintaining ambiguity about which circumstances would lead to the use of nuclear weapons, in order to prevent a potential aggressor from calculating risks — which is why France wouldn’t provide details over how it would help in defending other European countries.
France “likes to remind people of its capabilities in order to be credible in its deterrence,” Maitre said. “But there’s also an element of ambiguity, because it’s not a question of telling our adversary exactly what our red lines are. No nuclear power does this.”
The Federation of American Scientists, or FAS, estimates that all together, the United States and Russia possess approximately 88% of the world’s total inventory of nuclear weapons. They are followed at a distance by China, and France is in fourth position with an estimated 290 nuclear warheads. The U.K. has an estimated 225, according to the federation. The FAS notes that the exact number of weapons in each country’s possession is unknown because it’s a closely held national secret.
France’s arsenal consists of ballistic missiles deployed on its nuclear-powered submarines and air-launched cruise missiles carried by long-range bombers.
Maitre noted that the key for France’s strategy isn’t making a comparison with the U.S., but rather ensuring the capability to impose “an unacceptable response and damage on an adversary.”
A domestic political debate
Macron’s proposal to potentially use France’s nuclear arsenal to protect Europe has sparked backlash from far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose National Rally and allies form the biggest group of lawmakers at the National Assembly since last year’s legislative elections.
Le Pen was quick to criticize Macron’s comments, arguing during a debate on Ukraine at the National Assembly that “sharing (nuclear) deterrence is equivalent to abolishing it” on Monday. She added: “unleashing the nuclear fire cannot be separated from national and popular legitimacy,” which is vested solely in the French president, elected by universal suffrage.
In response, Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said that France’s nuclear deterrent would remain the prerogative of the president.
“Weapons production … and use of nuclear forces are French and will stay French,” Lecornu said Monday.
“While the hand on the button remains that of the head of state … the fact remains that the way in which we contribute to the continent’s global security architecture is a proper debate,” Lecornu told French lawmakers. All European capitals “are going to ask us the question, so we want to be ready to answer.”
