France to boost nuclear arsenal, could deploy atomic weapons to European allies

By Valerie Leroux with Anna Smolchenko in Paris
Ile Longue, France (AFP) Mar 2, 2026
President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France will expand its atomic arsenal and could deploy nuclear-armed aircraft to allied countries for the first time, as he unveiled an unprecedented plan to bolster security on the continent.

Speaking from the Ile Longue nuclear submarine base as the clock ticks on his presidency, Macron announced that eight European countries including Germany, Poland, Sweden and Britain had agreed to participate in what he called a "forward" nuclear deterrence scheme.

"Today more than ever, independence cannot mean isolation," Macron said in his 50-minute speech, with one of France's four ballistic missile submarines in the background.

"We are currently experiencing a period of geopolitical upheaval fraught with risks," Macron said, speaking after the launch of US and Israeli attacks against Iran in a campaign that risks destabilising the Middle East.

Macron said eight European countries had agreed to join his plan to use France's nuclear stockpile to bolster security on the continent.

"Germany will be a key partner in this effort," he said,

In a joint statement following Macron's speech, France, the European Union's only nuclear power, and Germany said they had set up a "nuclear steering group", adding such an arrangement would "add to, not substitute for, NATO's nuclear deterrence".

The countries -- including the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and Denmark -- will be able to temporarily host French "strategic air forces", which will be able to "spread out across the European continent" to "complicate the calculations of our adversaries", Macron said.

The scheme could also involve "the conventional participation of allied forces in our nuclear activities", such as recent military exercises in which British forces have been involved, Macron added.

He stressed that France would maintain tight control over nuclear decision-making.

France and Germany said they had agreed to take "first concrete steps beginning this year", including German conventional participation in French nuclear exercises.

- 'Arming up with our friends' -

Macron updated France's nuclear doctrine as Russia's war against Ukraine grinds into a fifth year and NATO allies worry about Washington's wavering commitment to Europe.

Reassurances from US officials that the American deterrent would continue to cover Europe under the NATO alliance have done little to quell European fears of fickleness under US President Donald Trump.

Macron stressed the new effort would be "in addition to NATO's nuclear mission".

The United States stations nuclear bombs in five European countries - Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Turkey.

He also said he ordered an increase in the number of nuclear warheads, but added France would no longer be disclosing any details on its stockpile.

Macron listed the measures as France's allies fret that a possible win by the eurosceptic far-right National Rally (RN) party of Marine Le Pen in next year's presidential election could undermine European cooperation.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland was in talks with France and other European allies on further steps. "We are arming up together with our friends so that our enemies will never dare to attack us," he said on X.

Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson also said his country viewed Macron's initiative "positively".

- 'Dispersing our assets' -

France maintains the world's fourth-largest nuclear arsenal, with around 290 warheads. Britain, which is no longer a member of the EU, is the only other European nuclear power.

By contrast, the US and Russia, the world's two main atomic powers, each have thousands of nuclear warheads.

Jean-Marie Collin of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) said he envisaged "an increase of between 50 and 100 nuclear warheads within around ten years."

He said an end to transparency announced by Macron was "contrary to the spirit" of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Rafael Loss of the European Council on Foreign Relations warned that a far-right electoral victory next year "could walk back many or even most of these steps".

"Electoral politics can have a great impact on the credibility of nuclear deterrence as perceived by allies and adversaries -- as developments since Trump's re-election demonstrate," he said.

RN leaders Le Pen and Jordan Bardella took issue with Macron's "forward deterrence" plan.

"This new concept effectively means dispersing our nuclear assets across European territory," they said in a joint statement.

"Between now and the next presidential election, National Rally will defend the sovereignty and effectiveness of our nuclear force with the utmost vigour."

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