Next 50 Years ‘Will Be an Age of Nuclear Weapons’

France’s president is recasting his country’s nuclear role, as well as asking Europe to step closer to it. Emmanuel Macron on Monday announced plans to enlarge France’s nuclear arsenal and knit it more tightly into European defense, arguing that the continent must “regain control of [its] own destiny” as Russia grows more aggressive and US commitments look less certain, per the New York Times. Calling it a policy of “forward deterrence,” Macron said France will stage joint drills linking its nuclear forces with the conventional militaries of Britain, Germany, and six other European nations, and that France may temporarily transport its warheads outside of its borders.

“To be free, we have to be feared,” Macron said, per France 24. The AP notes that France is the only nation within the EU bloc considered to be a nuclear power, since the UK left the group in 2020 during Brexit. Analysts say it’s the biggest shift in French nuclear doctrine in three decades, though not a substitute for the American-led NATO shield. Macron stressed that France alone will retain control of its weapons and won’t join NATO’s nuclear planning organization, keeping a long tradition of strategic independence.

Berlin and Paris say they’ll create a high-level nuclear steering group, but the plan faces political headwinds at home in France: Far-right leaders Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella dismissed the proposed dispersion of French warheads as PR that ignores national interests. Macron didn’t disclose how many warheads will be added—Deutsche Welle notes the current figure hovers around 290—but he warned that “the next half-century will be an age of nuclear weapons.” The Economist has more on what Macron’s moves could mean for Europe.