French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of his intention to strengthen the country’s nuclear arsenal brought the nuclear issue back to the center of international discussions.
“Elchi” reports that French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of his intention to strengthen the country’s nuclear arsenal brought the nuclear issue back to the center of international discussions. The military escalation between Iran and Israel and the direct intervention of the US in favor of Israel forced European countries to reconsider the concept of deterrence.
There is an old saying in geopolitics: “A country that possesses nuclear weapons becomes untouchable.” Therefore, Washington is trying by all means to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. In accordance with the same principle, although the US deploys nuclear bombs in some European countries, it retains strategic control.
But who really possesses nuclear weapons in Europe?
Why does France want to increase the number of nuclear warheads?
The war environment in the Middle East is being used by Macron as an opportunity to increase France’s strategic autonomy against the US. Feeling that the US influence in Europe is weakening or a power vacuum is emerging, France is trying to present itself as the leader of the continent.
In his speech from the Île Longue military base, Macron emphasized the concept of “strengthened nuclear deterrence” and stated that a new era is based on nuclear arsenals.
Although the atomic age actually began in 1945, Macron’s statements reflect the security concerns that France and other EU countries have developed following the US rearmament policy.
One of the most striking points in Macron’s speech was the idea that France’s nuclear deterrence could be “exported” to other European countries.
The message can be summarized as follows:
If the US is tired of managing Europe’s security, Europe must strengthen its own nuclear deterrence capability. In this context, Macron raised the idea of European nuclear cooperation based on information exchange and joint military exercises. Currently, eight European countries support Macron’s proposal:
Germany
United Kingdom
Poland
Netherlands
Belgium
Sweden
Denmark
Greece
The plan envisages these countries being able to deploy French strategic air forces on their territories. This is a significant means of political and military influence for France.
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