France’s President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday that his nation will increase its nuclear stockpile and allow for the temporary deployment of nuclear-armed aircraft to allied territories.
Macron announced France will potentially work with Great Britain, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, and Sweden on a “forward deterrence” strategy which would see these eight countries join France’s nuclear exercises.
“This dispersal across Europe, like an archipelago of power, will complicate our adversaries’ calculus,” stated Macron.
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According to Macron, France will also cease disclosing its number of nuclear warheads. France currently possesses 290 nuclear warheads.
There is discussion that this move is part of a broader strategy for France to integrate its nuclear deterrence capabilities into European defense frameworks. France signed an agreement with Germany last year to create a “high-ranking nuclear steering group.”
This move may heighten the fears of France’s opposition that Macron intends to place French nuclear weapons under European, rather than French, control. “If Mr. Macron thinks he can hand over France’s nuclear weapons to the EU, he will be subject to impeachment proceedings for treason,” wrote Philippe Olivier, an advisor to the conservative-populist National Rally party, wrote in a post on X last week.
