Macron expands France’s nuclear arsenal amid Trump’s policies
Photo: Emmanuel Macron, President of France (Getty Images)
France will strengthen its nuclear arsenal as doubts arise over the US security commitments to Europe, Bloomberg informs.
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Unlike other European countries, France possesses a nuclear arsenal that is technically independent of the US. This has made Paris a focal point for European discussions on its own nuclear defense.
"I have ordered an increase in the number of nuclear warheads in our arsenal to put an end to any speculation," said French President Emmanuel Macron.
He added that France is strengthening nuclear cooperation with several European countries, including Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden, and Denmark.
Doubts over US commitments
"A strengthening of our arsenal is indispensable. To be free one must be feared and to be feared one must be powerful," Macron said.
The agency notes that European governments are facing the most challenging security situation since the Cold War. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has shattered perceptions of stability on the continent, while US President Donald Trump has questioned commitments to NATO and the EU.
Although Trump has not indicated any intention to withdraw US nuclear weapons stationed in Europe since the 1950s under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, doubts on this issue have prompted European governments to seek ways to strengthen their own defense.
France’s nuclear arsenal
The French nuclear arsenal is the fourth largest in the world, with only the US and Russia possessing more deployed nuclear weapons — meaning warheads that are ready for use.
France’s current arsenal, consisting of 290 warheads, is roughly at the level it had in 1984. In the early 1990s, the country’s nuclear stockpile peaked at 540 warheads.
The warheads are distributed between air-launched missiles and ArianeGroup M51 ballistic missiles, which are launched from submarines.
Nuclear weapons in the EU
France allows its nuclear weapons to be stationed on allied territory as a replacement for US nuclear weapons in Europe. Macron stated that he has initiated strategic discussions on protecting the entire continent with French nuclear capabilities.
Recently, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Germany and France are holding talks on European nuclear deterrence.
Meanwhile, Polish President Karol Nawrocki stated that Poland must develop its own nuclear weapons, as it is "on the edge of armed conflict."
