President Emmanuel Macron has been accused of undermining French sovereignty and military deterrence after the head of state “opened the debate” about creating a common European defence armed with nuclear weapons.
In an interview published on Saturday evening with the Ebra group of regional French newspapers, Mr Macron said per Le Figaro: “I am in favour of opening this debate which must include anti-missile defence, the firing of long-range weapons, nuclear weapons for those who have them or who have American nuclear weapons on their soil.”
“Let’s put everything on the table and look at what truly protects us in a credible way,” he continued, but maintained that France would keep “its specificity but is ready to contribute more to the defence of European soil”.
“Being credible also means having long-range missiles that would deter the Russians. And there is nuclear weapons: French doctrine is that we can use them when our vital interests are threatened. I have already said that there is a European dimension to these vital interests,” the president said.
Macron’s comments drew condemnation from both sides of the political aisle in France, with François-Xavier Bellamy, the leader of the centre-right Les Républicains (LR) in the upcoming European Parliament elections, declaring: “A French head of state should not say that.”
“This is exceptionally serious because this touches on the very nerve of French sovereignty,” Bellamy added.
Conservative populist National Rally MEP Thierry Mariani responded: “Macron is becoming a national danger… After nuclear weapons, there will follow France’s permanent seat on the UN Security Council, which will also be sold off to the European Union.”
The suggestion was also criticised by the left, with the La France Insoumise (LFI) parliamentary group proclaiming that Macron “has just dealt a new blow to the credibility of French nuclear deterrence”.
“Under the cover of defending European soil, Macron wants to liquidate French strategic autonomy,” LFI deputy Bastien Lachaud added.
Since the United Kingdom left the European Union under Brexit, France has stood as the lone nuclear-armed power in the bloc. While Britain’s nuclear weapons are still available for the protection of Europe under the terms of the NATO alliance, there have been growing calls from globalists to strengthen the power of Brussels and even potentially to entrust the EU with its own dedicated army.
As opposed to the United States and the Soviet Union (now Russia), France has long adopted a nuclear weapons strategy of “minimum deterrence”, boasting an arsenal of around 290 nukes compared to around 3,700 in the U.S. and around 4,500 in Russia. The “deterrence of the strong by the weak” operates under the assumption that the ability to launch precision strikes against an enemy’s critical infrastructure will be enough to prevent countries like Russia from launching an attack on France.
Although a member of NATO, France has maintained some of its independence after it withdrew from the Western alliance’s Nuclear Planning Group (NPG), meaning that its nuclear policy is solely at the discretion of the French president. The nuclear doctrine of the country stipulates that nukes can only be used under extreme circumstances of self-defence or in situations where the “vital interests” of the nation are at stake.
President Macron has argued that such “vital interests” of France also include a “European dimension”, suggesting he would be willing to put the use of nuclear weapons on the table if another EU member state were attacked.
Conversely, Macron said in 2022 that France would not use nukes if Russia launched a nuclear attack on Ukraine, saying: “Our doctrine is based on the fundamental interests of the Nation and they are very clearly defined. If there were a nuclear ballistic attack in Ukraine, these interests would not be called into question.”
However, while the French leader was initially a proponent of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow and appeared to be hesitant to broaden the conflict, he has since recast himself as one of the leading hawks in Europe, similarly calling for a “debate” about sending NATO troops into Ukraine.