Macron to confer with allies on protecting Europe with French nuclear deterrent

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he will discuss with European allies the possibility of using France’s nuclear deterrent to protect the continent from Russian threats, amid concerns over potential US disengagement.

France is the only nuclear power in the European Union.

Mr Macron, in a televised address ahead of a special European summit on Thursday, described Russia as a “threat to France and Europe”, and said he had decided “to open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent by our (nuclear) deterrent”.

He said the use of France’s nuclear weapons would remain only in the hands of the French president.

Mr Macron’s move comes in response to a push by German election winner Friedrich Merz, who recently called for a discussion on “nuclear sharing” with France.

Nuclear deterrence

EU leaders are set to address the issue of nuclear deterrence, among other topics, during the Thursday summit in Brussels focusing on support for Ukraine and European defence.

European Nato allies have for decades counted on the powerful US deterrent.

“Europe’s future does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow,” Mr Macron said, insisting that “the innocence of the last 30 years” which followed the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall is “now over”.

Mr Macron said Russia is now spending 40% of its state budget in military spending, with plans to expand its army by 2030 with 300,000 additional soldiers, 3,000 tanks and 300 jet fighters.

“Who can believe that today’s Russia will stop at Ukraine?” Mr Macron asked.

Long-term support

Allies need to make sure Russia would not invade Ukraine again after a potential peace deal is signed, Mr Macron said. This means providing “long-term support for the Ukrainian army” and possibly deploying European forces, he said.

Those forces “would not fight on the front line, but they would be there, on the contrary, once peace has been signed, to guarantee that it is fully respected”, Mr Macron detailed.

He said that a meeting of army chiefs of staff of European nations willing to be involved is to be held in Paris next week.

US President Donald Trump has pushed for Europe to carry more of the burden of protecting the continent, and Trump administration officials have indicated that the current US level of engagement may not be forever.

Mr Macron also said he hoped to convince Mr Trump not to impose tariffs on imports from Europe.

Mr Trump has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on European goods, arguing that the European Union has deliberately undermined trade with the US, which EU leaders have denied.