President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised speech to the nation that he will consult with European allies about the idea of using France’s nuclear deterrence to protect the continent from threats from Russia, at a time when there is fear that Donald Trump is turning his back on US allies.
France is the only nuclear power in the European Union.
Macron described Russia as a “threat to France and Europe” and said that he had decided to “open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies in the European continent through our (nuclear) deterrence.”
He stated that the final decision to use France’s nuclear weapons will rest solely with the French president.
France will provide military intelligence to Ukraine.
In turn, France will provide military intelligence to Ukraine after Donald Trump’s decision to stop all support to the country invaded by Russia, said French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Thursday.
The United States said on Wednesday that it had halted its intelligence exchange with Ukraine, cutting off the flow of vital information that has helped the war-torn nation against the Russian invaders.
In statements on the radio France Inter on Thursday, Lecornu said that France continues to share its intelligence: “Our intelligence is sovereign...We have information that we allow Ukraine to benefit from.”
Lecornu added that, following the decision of the Trump-Musk government to suspend all military aid to Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron asked him to “accelerate the various French aid packages” to compensate for the lack of American assistance.
Why did Macron take an active stance against Russia?
Macron’s action comes in response to an effort by the winner of the German elections, Friedrich Merz, who recently called for nuclear deterrence to be shared with France.
Macron pointed out that “the future of Europe does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow” and insisted that “the innocence of the last 30 years” that occurred after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 “has come to an end.”
Macron said that Russia is spending 40% of its state budget on military spending, and that it has plans to expand its army by 2030 with an additional 300,000 soldiers, 3,000 tanks, and 300 combat aircraft. “Who can believe today that Russia will stop in Ukraine?”, Macron asked.
The allies must ensure that Russia does not invade Ukraine again after the signing of a possible peace agreement, stated Macron. This means providing “long-term support to the Ukrainian army” and possibly deploying European forces, he said.
Those forces “would not fight on the front line, but would be there, once peace is signed, to ensure full respect”, Macron detailed. He also said that next week a meeting of Chiefs of Staff of the armies of the European nations willing to participate will be held in Paris.