French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly announced a new nuclear weapons strategy that opens the possibility of extending France's nuclear umbrella to other European countries while maintaining French control over the weapons. According to Swedish media reports, Macron declared that "the nuclear half-century is here" and proposed holding the rest of Europe under France's nuclear protection. However, both sources indicate that control over the nuclear weapons will remain exclusively French, with no sharing of decision-making authority with other European nations or the EU.
The announcement reportedly came during a major nuclear policy speech earlier this week. French political figures from both the right and left expressed relief that fears of shared control over France's atomic weapons proved unfounded. " The new strategy, described as "advanced deterrence," has a distinctly European character, reportedly involving offers for other countries to participate in exercises and potentially allowing French nuclear weapons to be moved to other countries to complicate targeting by adversaries, particularly Russia.
the power over the bombs remains French and is likely to stay that way
Critics, including disarmament organizations, have condemned the announcement as a threat to regional and global peace and security.
Europe facing a 'half-century of nuclear weapons'