France will expand its nuclear arsenal to ‘gain guaranteed destructive power’ – National
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that France would increase the number of nuclear weapons from the current level of less than 300, but did not give the number of the increase.
It will be the first time France has increased its nuclear arsenal since at least 1992.
“I have decided to increase the number of warheads in our arsenal,” Macron said at the L’Ile Longue naval base in northwestern France that hosts the country’s anti-missile submarines.
“My responsibility is to ensure that our deterrence lasts – and will last in the future – its guaranteed destructive power,” Macron said.
Macron’s speech was intended to clarify how France’s nuclear weapons fit into European security amid concerns expressed on the continent over repeated tensions with US President Donald Trump.
European leaders have expressed growing skepticism about the US commitment to help protect Europe under the so-called nuclear umbrella, a policy that has long been aimed at ensuring that allies – particularly NATO members – would be protected by US nuclear forces in the event of a threat.
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France is the only nuclear power in the European Union.
French President Emmanuel Macron, center right, speaks during a national security council meeting at the Elysee Palace, Sunday, March 1, 2026, in Paris, France.
(AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, pool)
“If we had to use our arsenal, no country, no matter how powerful, would be able to defend itself against it, and no country, no matter how big, could recover from it,” Macron said.
Other European countries have taken up Macron’s promise last year to discuss France’s nuclear deterrence and include European allies in nuclear exercises.
Earlier this month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he had “initial discussions” with Macron on the matter and spoke publicly about German Air Force planes possibly being used to carry French nuclear bombs.
France and Britain also adopted a joint declaration in July allowing the nuclear forces of both nations, although independent, to be “integrated”. The UK, no longer a member of the EU but a member of NATO, is the only European country with a nuclear deterrent.
Macron has always insisted that any decision to use France’s nuclear weapons would rest solely in the hands of the French president.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
