2026-03-02 16:20
publication
2026-03-02 16:20
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that his country must strengthen its nuclear deterrent in the face of current challenges. He assessed that there was a gradual transition to advanced nuclear deterrence. He announced that his country would increase the number of its nuclear warheads. He also noted that France would not provide information on the size of this arsenal.
In his speech at the Ile Longue military base in Brittany, the French president emphasized that on the geopolitical level, current times are a period of breakthroughs with many threats. This period justifies the tightening of the French model of nuclear deterrence, he argued.
Macron said in his speech on Monday that only the president can make the final decision on the use of France's nuclear arsenal. Nevertheless, he added that France is ready to enter into advanced nuclear deterrence, including the European dimension.
“There will be no sharing of the final decision,” Macron said at the Ile Longue nuclear submarine base in Brittany.
In 2025, Macron proposed a strategic debate on protecting Paris's partners on the European continent through France's nuclear deterrent. The French president stipulates that decisions regarding these weapons will remain the exclusive domain of Paris, but he refers to the wide scope of the concept of France's “vital interests” referred to in the country's nuclear doctrine.
According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), France has 290 nuclear warheads. Its arsenal is based on missiles launched from submarines and carried by Rafale aircraft.
Macron: eight countries, including Poland, are interested in France's nuclear deterrent
The president said that eight countries have agreed to take part in the advanced nuclear deterrent proposed by France. He mentioned Poland among these countries.
Macron said nuclear deterrence, which he described as advanced, gives European allies the opportunity to participate in related exercises.
He informed that for the first time, representatives of Great Britain participated in one of France's strategic exercises.
He added that the nuclear deterrence proposed by his country is a completely complementary action to NATO on the strategic and technical level.
As he explained, the work that France has started on a joint project with European countries is being carried out in full transparency with the United States and in close cooperation with Great Britain. (PAP)
