{"id":117586,"date":"2026-03-02T20:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T20:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=117586"},"modified":"2026-03-02T20:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T20:52:09","slug":"france-to-boost-nuclear-arsenal-and-extend-deterrence-to-european-allies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=117586","title":{"rendered":"France to boost nuclear arsenal and extend deterrence to European allies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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France is to boost its nuclear arsenal and extend the deterrent to cover other European countries, in a major development of its nuclear defence policy.<\/p>\n

In a speech in Brittany, President Emmanuel Macron explained the changes as the response to an increasingly unstable strategic environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next 50 years will be an era of nuclear weapons,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Speaking to naval officers in front of a nuclear submarine at the Ile Longue base near the port of Brest, he said the number of French nuclear warheads would be increased from their current level of around 300.<\/p>\n

He announced the launch in 2036 of a new nuclear-armed submarine to be called The Invincible.<\/p>\n

He said eight other European countries \u2013 the UK, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark \u2013 had agreed to participate in a new \u201cadvanced deterrence\u201d strategy.<\/p>\n

Writing on X, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk referenced the decision, saying: \u201cWe are arming up together with our friends so that our enemies will never dare to attack us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macron said the eight European countries could take part in exercises of France\u2019s air-launched nuclear capacity \u2013 or\u00a0force de frappe<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 and also host air bases where France\u2019s nuclear bombers could be stationed.<\/p>\n

This would allow France\u2019s Strategic Air Forces (FAS) to \u201cspread out across the depth of the European continent\u2026 and thus complicate the calculations of our adversaries\u201d, the president said.<\/p>\n

He added that France\u2019s partners would also share in the development of \u201cauxiliary\u201d capacities under the new nuclear doctrine: space-based alarm systems; air defence to shoot down incoming drones and missiles; and long-range missiles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf [adversaries] have the audacity to attack France\u2026 there will be an unsustainable price to be paid,\u201d Macron said<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Described by officials as the most significant change in French strategic thinking since 1960, \u201cadvanced deterrence\u201d nonetheless retains much of the original concept as defined by then-President Charles de Gaulle.<\/p>\n

There will be no explicit \u201cguarantee\u201d given to partner countries, and it is the president of France who will retain sole decision-making power over when to fire a nuclear missile.<\/p>\n

The aim remains to convince potential adversaries that \u201cif they have the audacity to attack France\u2026 there will be an unsustainable price to be paid,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n

Until now there has been a deliberate vagueness about what France regards as its \u201cvital interests\u201d, an attack on which would trigger a nuclear response.<\/p>\n

In recent years governments have hinted that \u201cvital interests\u201d could also include interests in Europe. With Macron\u2019s \u201cadvanced deterrence\u201d, this concept has been given further shape \u2013 though in accordance with the general theory of deterrence nothing is spelled out.<\/p>\n

Under the same principle, Macron said that from now on France would no longer communicate to the world the number of nuclear warheads in its possession.<\/p>\n

France already has a cooperation agreement with Europe\u2019s only other nuclear power \u2013 the United Kingdom. Recently UK officials took part for the first time in exercises by France\u2019s FAS.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the speech, France and Germany jointly announced plans for \u201ccloser cooperation\u201d in the field of nuclear deterrence.<\/p>\n

The two countries will \u201ctake the first steps this year, including German participation in French nuclear exercises\u2026 and the development of conventional capacities with European partners,\u201d according to a text signed by Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis cooperation will complement, not replace, Nato\u2019s nuclear deterrent,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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France is to boost its nuclear arsenal and extend the deterrent to cover other European countries, in a major development of its nuclear defence policy.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2082,1910,117,9428,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-france","category-international","category-news","category-nuclear","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=117586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117586\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=117586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=117586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}