The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, announced this Monday (2) that the country will expand its nuclear arsenal and will include European allies in a new deterrence strategy, amid an international scenario that he classified as “increasingly unstable”. The announcement was made during a speech at the Île Longue naval base, in the Brittany region, where French nuclear submarines are stationed.
At the time, Macron stated that France will enter a “new phase” of its nuclear policy and that the number of warheads, currently estimated at around 290, will be increased. He did not say how many new weapons would be incorporated and indicated that Paris would no longer publicly disclose the exact size of its arsenal.
“The next 50 years will be an era of nuclear weapons,” declared the French president.
Macron also announced the launch, scheduled for 2036, of a new nuclear submarine, which will be called “The Invincible”. France currently has four nuclear-capable submarines: Le Triomphant, Le Téméraire, Le Vigilant and Le Terrible. They are all stationed at the base of Île Longue.
Macron also reported that eight European countries, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark, agreed to participate in a strategy he called “advanced deterrence”. The proposal will allow these countries to participate in exercises linked to French aerial nuclear capabilities and to temporarily receive nuclear-capable aircraft.
The president stressed, however, that the decision on the possible use of nuclear weapons will remain the exclusive prerogative of France. The French Constitution establishes that the president is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and the only one with the authority to approve the use of nuclear weapons.
Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), cited by international vehicles, indicate that France is the fourth largest nuclear power in the world, behind Russia, the United States and China. More than 80% of French warheads are launched by submarines, according to the organization Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which analyzes global risks related to nuclear weapons and atomic proliferation.
In his speech, Macron stated that the strengthening of the French arsenal is a response to what he described as a strategic environment marked by Russia’s war in Ukraine and uncertainty about the United States’ commitment to European security. According to the newspaper The New York Timesthe move is seen as a significant step towards reinforcing the strategic autonomy of the European continent, without formally replacing the nuclear umbrella of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
