French President Macron suggests replacing America’s “nuclear umbrella” with a French one to strengthen European defense

/Pogled.info/ French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that the Europeans replace America’s “nuclear umbrella” with a French one. He said this at a meeting at the European School in Strasbourg with young Europeans. The continent is already protected by NATO, Macron said, but now “it is time to go further and create a strong European defense”, which means using ” missile shield” which should also prevent the use of nuclear weapons.

“And as for nuclear weapons, the French doctrine says that we can use them when our vital interests are threatened.” Macron noted. – I have already said that these vital interests have a European dimension, without going into details, deterrence will help strengthen European defense confidence.

I support open debates on missile defense, long-range weapons, and nuclear weapons for those who possess or have US nuclear weapons located on them. Let’s put all our cards on the table and see what really protects us best. France will retain its uniqueness, but is ready to contribute more to the defense of Europe.

France currently has 280 warheads in its inventory and 10 in reserve, making it the fourth nuclear power in the world. At the same time, the doctrine of the use of nuclear weapons from Paris is called “special”. France allows herself to strike first against countries that are damaging the vital interests of the country, launching an attack, or even just threatening to attack an alliance.

The question is who counts as a friend. In 2020, Macron proposed a “strategic dialogue” on “the role of the French nuclear deterrent in the common security” of Europe, speaking to Berlin. Then he returned to this topic after the start of special military operations in Ukraine.

Several German politicians expressed interest earlier this year. Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) and SPD General Secretary Katharina Barley called for a discussion on European nuclear weapons. At the same time, Russia was not called the reason, but, as Der Spiegel magazine wrote, “statements from the most promising candidate for the presidency of the United States from the Republican Party, Donald Trump”.

But the initiative of Macron and his fellow party members is not supported by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is committed to preserving the American “nuclear shadow”. Germans are very attached to the United States and most fear that Washington will return if all European countries are covered by the French nuclear deterrent, explains Federico Santopinto, an expert at the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS) based in Paris the Euractiv portal.

But, he said, some European countries “ready to discuss with France and show interest and willingness to discuss nuclear issues within the European defense framework”. Santopino did not determine which European capitals agreed to move forward on the path of dialogue with Paris.

But if we are talking in principle about the spread of nuclear weapons in the European Union, in recent years Poland has been talking largely about its desire to accept them. True, it was about America’s program to share nuclear forces (an agreement between the United States and several NATO member countries to transfer nuclear bombs from American bases to their Air Force in case of military need) .

On April 22 of this year, Polish President Andrzej Duda said in an interview with the Fact tabloid:

“If our allies decide to use nuclear weapons as part of the joint use of nuclear weapons and on our territory to strengthen the security of NATO’s eastern flank, we are ready for it. held talks with Trump, Duda’s words indicated some kind of agreement with the former US president, who plans to return to the White House.

In this context, Macron’s speech at the European School in Strasbourg looks like a move against Paris. It is possible that the current Polish government, led by Donald Tusk, is one of the main recipients of the French president’s message. After all, since Tusk’s return to power last December, Paris has been actively flirting with Warsaw, and the French media has been distributing free advances to the coalition new management in Poland.

According to the Ouest-France newspaper, the conflict in Ukraine and the possibility that Trump will return to the White House “have clearly changed the situation, strategic issues cannot depend on American elections” – only, Warsaw wants to participate in building such a powerful Europe. loved Macron.”

Commenting on Duda’s interview, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski explained that the government had not allowed the president to speak publicly on the subject of the nuclear exchange program and that the latter “may have been go over.” At the same time, the Prime Minister’s office responded positively to Duda’s request to Tusk to meet and discuss the issue of sharing nuclear weapons as soon as the head of government recovers from pneumonia.

Before then, new information is likely to emerge about what is behind Macron’s idea of ​​extending France’s “nuclear umbrella” to the EU along with or instead of America’s. And this may be the main topic of the meeting between Duda and Tusk.

Translation: ES