France to increase nuclear arsenal and European weapons cooperation

Amid growing concern among European leaders about wavering US commitments to help defend the continent, France said it will increase the size of nuclear arsenal for the first time in decades.

Speaking at a submarine base in Brittany on Monday, President Emmanuel Macron said faced with geopolitical upheaval “fraught with risks”, it will also intensify nuclear weapons cooperation with eight European allies.

Macron added that France will no longer disclose figures relating to its nuclear arsenal, unlike what may have been done in the past.

“So, to be free, one must be feared, and to be feared, one must be powerful. This increase in our arsenal is proof of that,” he said.

The president also said that Paris could deploy nuclear-capable Rafale fighter jets to partner countries such as Germany and Poland for the first time.

These will be able to “spread out across the European continent” to “complicate the calculations of our adversaries”, Macron said.

“Today more than ever, independence cannot mean isolation,” Macron said in his 50-minute speech, with one of France’s four ballistic missile submarines in the background.

He said that France – the European Union’s only nuclear power – must strengthen its deterrent in the face of multiple threats as part of plans to bolster security on the continent.

Macron said there would be no sharing of decision-making on the use of the country’s nuclear weapons, with the “ultimate decision” the responsibility of the French president.

His speech comes after the launch of US and Israeli attacks against Iran in a campaign that risks destabilising the Middle East.

The French president said that European countries, including Germany, Poland, Sweden, and Britain had agreed to participate in what he called a “forward” nuclear deterrence scheme.

“Germany will be a key partner in this effort,” he said.

In a joint statement following Macron’s speech, France and Germany said they had set up a “high-ranking nuclear steering group”.

They added that this arrangement would “add to, not substitute for, NATO’s nuclear deterrence”.

Macron’s announcement is a major doctrine change for France and the continent which has relied primarily on the United States for deterring potential adversaries.

The United States has nuclear bombs stationed in five European countries – Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Turkey.

But reassurances from US officials that its deterrent will continue to cover Europe under the NATO alliance have done little to quell European fears of fickleness under US President Donald Trump.

France maintains the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal, with around 290 warheads. Britain, which is no longer a member of the EU, is the only other European nuclear power.

By contrast, the US and Russia, the world’s two main atomic powers, each have thousands of nuclear warheads.