Under France’s nuclear doctrine, there is a “European dimension” to the so -called vital interests of the country – which weapons are designed to protect. However, what this European dimension implies exactly and in which circumstances, France could deploy its nuclear capacity beyond its own borders, is deliberately vague.
Bardella took a more open tone than the presidential candidate of his party, Marine Le Pen, who said on Saturday that “the French nuclear deterrence must remain a means of French nuclear deterrence” and that he “should not be shared”.
Bardella accused other European countries of becoming too dependent on American defense equipment as well as Washington security guarantees and called for European preference in defense investments – a common refrain from Macron. NATO European allies have been covered for decades by the powerful American nuclear deterrence.
In recent years, the French president has made repeated openings to European countries, inviting them to a dialogue on the way in which France’s nuclear arsenal could help protect the continent. Unlike the United Kingdom, France is not a member of the NATO nuclear planning group.
So far, European countries, in particular Germany, were reluctant to engage with Paris on the question – but the next chancellor probably the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, recently declared that he was open to discussions with Paris and London on nuclear deterrence.
The table options could be to include other countries in nuclear deterrent exercises, Macron told Le Figaro in an interview published on Sunday. The French daily has also pointed out that France could discuss the positioning of nuclear weapons in other European countries, in the same way that the United States currently does in countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium.
Politices
