Keynote speech
Macron presents new plans for France’s nuclear weapons
Updated March 2, 2026 – 4:57 amReading time: 2 minutes
How does Europe respond to growing threats? Macron wants to present new plans for France’s nuclear shield – and talks about cooperation with EU partners.
French President Emmanuel Macron wants to present plans to expand his country’s nuclear deterrent this Monday. In the keynote speech at the base of France’s nuclear submarines, Macron also wants to comment on the inclusion of European partners in France’s nuclear protective shield.
At the Munich Security Conference two weeks ago, the debate about a stronger European nuclear deterrent gained momentum. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) said at the time in Munich that he was holding talks with Macron about a common European deterrent. Macron had already offered Germany and other EU partners such talks in 2020.
Specifically, France and Great Britain agreed last summer on closer coordination of their nuclear deterrent. In the winter, senior British military officials were observers at an exercise by the French nuclear forces. After the talks with Macron, Merz said that he could theoretically imagine making Bundeswehr aircraft available for a possible use of French or British nuclear bombs.
Macron’s announcements could include an increase in the number of French nuclear submarines or fighter jets from which nuclear warheads can be launched. A year ago, Macron announced the creation of a fourth air base where two new squadrons with around 40 fighter jets including hypersonic nuclear weapons would be stationed. It is unlikely that France will increase the total number of its nuclear weapons.
However, as Macron said at the conference in Munich, nuclear deterrence must be recalibrated in order to be credible in dialogue with Russia. As it was said from the Élysée Palace over the weekend, current events in the Middle East show that in the world of tomorrow, power and independence will be two indispensable forces to counter the increasing threats.
France has been the only remaining nuclear power in the EU since Great Britain left in 2020. According to the peace research institute Sipri, the country has 290 of the world’s approximately 12,200 nuclear weapons, making it the fourth largest nuclear power after Russia, the USA and China. The country has four nuclear submarines, from which missiles with nuclear warheads can be fired with a range of about 10,000 kilometers. France can also use nuclear weapons from the air. Its Rafale fighter jets can shoot down the country’s 50 cruise missiles with nuclear warheads. These officially have a range of around 500 kilometers.
