Can France's nuclear deterrent defend the EU?

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Can France's nuclear deterrent defend the EU?  Faced with US disengagement from Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron wants to open the debate on extending France's nuclear umbrella to its EU partners.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/10/can-frances-nuclear-deterrent-defend-the-eu  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00It's a highly strategic debate opened by French President Emmanuel Macron wants to explore

00:07with his European partners the possibility of extending France's nuclear deterrent protection

00:13to the EU.

00:14In Europe, two countries have nuclear weapons, France and the United Kingdom.

00:19Paris is believed to have 290 warheads, while London has 225.

00:25However, the two capitals differ in terms of political legitimacy, as the UK is no longer

00:31part of the European Union, and they also have different levels of strategic flexibility.

00:54British weapons can be launched from submarines, as can France's, but Paris can also use fighter

01:09bombers to drop its atomic weapons.

01:11Expanding France's nuclear deterrent would require considerable political and doctrinal

01:17consideration.

01:19If we extend the nuclear deterrent, it means that we are ready to use nuclear weapons to

01:23potentially protect a European state or a NATO state.

01:27But it also means that we are exposed to a risk of retaliation from a state such as

01:33Russia.

01:34And it means that at that moment, Russia could, again it's quite hypothetical, but could

01:39launch nuclear weapons against French territory, against a French city, for example.

01:44Professor Wasinski believes that both French and British nuclear warheads are sufficient

01:50to deter an adversary, as these weapons are highly powerful.

01:54However, others argue that this balance of power is not enough to counter Russia's 4,380

02:01nuclear warheads.

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