Macron says France will increase nuclear warheads amid global uncertainty

The French president has announced that his country will increase the number of nuclear warheads in its arsenal for the first time in decades.

Speaking on Monday at the L’Ile Longue military base in northwestern France, home to the country’s ballistic missile submarines, Emmanuel Macron said he had decided to raise the number of warheads from the current level of fewer than 300.

He did not specify how many would be added. It would mark the first increase in France’s nuclear stockpile since at least 1992.

Macron said the move was aimed at clarifying the role of France’s nuclear deterrent in Europe’s security architecture amid what he described as growing global threats and uncertainty surrounding US security guarantees to European allies.

Macron also said France would allow the temporary deployment of its nuclear-armed aircraft to allied countries and announced that France, Germany and the United Kingdom would work together on “very long-range missile projects” as part of deeper cooperation on strike capabilities.