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President Emmanuel Macron has said he will hold talks with allies over how France’s nuclear weapons could protect Europe, as the continent steps up efforts to guard against an emboldened Russia.
In a television address on Wednesday, Macron responded to a call by Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz about whether France and the UK would be willing to do some form of “nuclear sharing” if the US became a less reliable partner.
“Our nuclear deterrence protects us. It is complete, sovereign and entirely French,” Macron said. “However, in response to the historic call of the future German chancellor, I have decided to open the strategic debate on the protection of our European continental allies through our deterrence.”
The issue is likely to come up at an emergency summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday that will be focused on new ways of financing European defence spending as US President Donald Trump presses Ukraine to reach a peace deal with Russia.
The Trump administration has signalled the US no longer wants to be Europe’s de facto security guarantor via Nato, and instead appears to be intent on securing a closer relationship with Russia.
Trump’s upending of the transatlantic alliance has shocked European countries that fear Russia will pose a long-term risk to Ukraine and the entire continent.
In response, Europe is preparing several different steps, including easing EU deficit rules that have been holding back higher defence spending and introducing enhanced regional co-operation on weapons development and procurement.
On the idea of France extending its nuclear shield to its European allies, Macron was at pains to stress that any decision about using the weapons “has always been and will always remain in the hands of the president of the republic”.
In its nuclear doctrine, France has indicated that the “vital interests” guiding when weapons could be used have a European dimension, but it has never specified how — so as to preserve the ambiguity needed for effective deterrence.
France’s nuclear arsenal is much smaller than the US equivalent, and therefore could not offer the same level of security to Europe as America does.
France would also be unlikely to offer the arrangements the US has laid out in its nuclear sharing agreement that is an important part of Nato’s deterrence.
The accord allows several of Nato’s European members, such as Germany and Italy, to host US nuclear weapons on their soil and maintain fighter jets capable of carrying them.
However, Macron has long advocated for a stronger Europe that does not rely on the US for security.
“Europe’s future does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow,” he said. “I want to believe that the United States will remain by our side. But we must be ready if that were not the case.”
Macron said European military budgets will have to rise to face new challenges, prompting difficult choices over public spending.
“These will be new investments that require mobilising private funding as well as public funding, without increasing taxes,” he added. “To achieve this, reforms, choices, and courage will be necessary.”
