Macron says France will increase warheads and allow temporary nuclear deployment

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French President Emmanuel Macron said France will increase its nuclear warheads and, for the first time, allow the temporary deployment of nuclear-armed aircraft to allied countries, outlining what he called a new “forward deterrence” posture aimed at strengthening Europe’s independence.

Speaking at a military base at L’Ile Longue on France’s Atlantic coast, Macron said, “To be free, one needs to be feared,” adding that he was increasing the arsenal’s warheads to ensure France’s “assured destructive power.” He did not provide a figure for how much the warhead total would rise.

Macron said the new posture would “provide for the temporary deployment of elements of our strategic air forces to allied countries,” but he said there would be no sharing of decision-making with any other nation about the use of nuclear weapons. He also said talks about deterrence cooperation had started with Britain, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark.

Macron said France would allow partners to participate in deterrence exercises and allow allies’ non-nuclear forces to take part in France’s nuclear activities. He described himself as commander-in-chief of the armed forces under the French constitution and said any coordination would remain under French control.

European leaders welcomed the strategy. In a joint statement, Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the two countries would deepen integration in deterrence starting this year, including “German conventional participation in French nuclear exercises and joint visits to strategic sites.” In a letter to Dutch lawmakers, Defense Minister Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius and Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said the Netherlands was in strategic talks with France on nuclear deterrence as “a supplement to, and not a replacement for, NATO’s collective defense and nuclear deterrence capabilities.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X that “we are arming up together with our friends so that our enemies will never dare to attack us.”

Macron said the move reflected growing European doubts about U.S. commitments to defend Europe under the “nuclear umbrella,” along with what he described as changes in U.S. defense strategy and the emergence of new threats. He said Europeans should take their destiny “more firmly into their hands,” and he linked the decision to developments in competitors’ defenses, the emergence of regional powers, the possibility of coordination among adversaries, and proliferation risks.

The president also said France has been preparing discussions with some partners, including following an earlier offer he made last year to discuss France’s nuclear deterrence. He said Merz had previously described “initial talks” and theorized publicly about German Air Force planes potentially being used to carry French nuclear bombs, but Macron ruled out that possibility in Monday’s speech.

Disarmament campaigners criticized Macron’s announcement. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, said Macron’s plan could cost billions of dollars, jeopardize France’s international commitments, and lead Russia to interpret the steps as a major provocation that could risk escalation. Melissa Parke, the group’s executive director, said the announcement was “a direct threat to the peace and security of the region, and the world,” and said that France “already spent $6 billion on its nuclear weapons in 2024” and that it was unclear how much the increase would add. Parke said, “This is not progress, it’s a nuclear arms race that no one can afford.”