“Let’s put everything on the table.” By proposing to include nuclear weapons in the debate on a defense Europe under construction, French President Emmanuel Macron unleashed a barrage of criticism among the opposition who accused him of “selling out” national sovereignty. In the wake of his speech on Europe from the Sorbonne, the Head of State met a dozen young people in Strasbourg on Friday, an interview organized by the regional newspapers of the Ebra group (Est-Bourgogne-Rhône-Alpes) which ‘published on Saturday evening.
“Is France therefore ready to Europeanize its nuclear deterrent capacity?” asks one of his interlocutors, Linus. Emmanuel Macron takes up the argument developed Thursday in his speech, that in favor of “credible” European defense. He then discusses the deployment of anti-missile shields – “but we must be sure that they block all missiles” – long-range weapons, then nuclear weapons.
“A French head of state should not say that”
“The French doctrine is that we can use it when our vital interests are threatened. I have already said that there is a European dimension to these vital interests,” he continued. “I am in favor of opening this debate which must therefore include anti-missile defense, long-range weapon firing, nuclear weapons for those who have them or who have American nuclear weapons on their soil. Let’s put everything on the table and let’s look at what really protects us in a credible way,” he said.
Since Brexit and the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, France is the only one of its member states to have nuclear deterrence. However, the dialogue on security issues continues with London, particularly within the European Political Community (EPC), a newly created forum at the initiative of the French president.
“We don’t believe in umbrellas”
In his speech at the Sorbonne, Emmanuel Macron had already addressed this question of French nuclear weapons. “Nuclear deterrence is in fact at the heart of the French defense strategy. It is therefore in essence an essential element in the defense of the European continent,” he said, taking up aspects of a key speech on deterrence delivered in February 2020.
Like the right, La France insoumise (LFI) estimated on Sunday, in a press release from its parliamentary group, that Emmanuel Macron “has just dealt a new blow to the credibility of French nuclear deterrence”. “The French nuclear doctrine is that we do not believe in the umbrella. We are not going to start a nuclear fire for another country,” declared the head of the group Mathilde Panot on RTL/Le Figaro/M6. The president of MoDem François Bayrou, an ally of Emmanuel Macron, responded that the vital interests of France and Europe could sometimes merge. “Imagine a mortal threat against Germany. Do you think we would be safe? Do you believe that our vital interests would not be affected by a threat of this order?” he asked on LCI.
“A national danger”
On the far right, RN MEP Thierry Mariani affirmed on X that “Macron is becoming a national danger”. “After nuclear weapons, there will follow France’s permanent seat on the UN Security Council, which will also be sold off to the European Union,” he protested. At the antipodes, the head of the list of Ecologists in the European elections Marie Toussaint, in favor of a “European federal leap”, considered on France 3 that this meant the “sharing of this force which is the French weapon, therefore nuclear power too”.
And after nuclear weapons, will follow France’s permanent seat on the UN Security Council which will also be sold to the European Union….
Macron is becoming a national danger!#VivementLe9June to give him a clear signal to stop his policy https://t.co/HfXB6uqIi0
— Thierry MARIANI (@ThierryMARIANI) April 28, 2024
The construction of a defense Europe has been an objective of France for a very long time, but it has often encountered reluctance from its partners who considered the NATO umbrella more secure. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the possible return to the White House of Donald Trump have revived the relevance of the debate on European autonomy in defense matters.