France to consider protecting European allies with its nuclear arsenal, Macron says

Paris (CNN) — France will consider extending the protection of its nuclear arsenal to its allies, French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday, while warning that Europe needs to be ready for the United States to not “remain by our side” in the Ukraine-Russia war.

“I’ve decided to open the strategic debate on the protection by our deterrence of our allies on the European continent,” he said in a live broadcast on his official social media channels, during which he stressed the need for Europe to continue assisting Ukraine and strengthen its own defense.

“Our nuclear deterrence protects us, it is complete, sovereign, French from end to end,” Macron said of France’s nuclear arsenal. “This protects us much more than many of our neighbors.”

“Whatever happens, the decision has always remained and will remain in the hands of the president of the Republic, commander of the military,” Macron added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Macron of posing a direct threat to Russia with his rhetoric.

“If he considers us a threat, he calls a meeting of the chiefs of general staff of European countries and Britain, says that it is necessary to use nuclear weapons, prepares to use nuclear weapons against Russia, this is, of course, a threat,” Lavrov said at a news conference on Thursday.

Macron also warned that Europe was “entering a new era,” and that it would be “folly” to remain a “spectator” to the threat from Russia.

“The United States, our ally, has changed its position on this war, is less supportive of Ukraine and is casting doubt on what will happen next,” Macron said, adding: “I want to believe that the United States will remain by our side, but we need to be ready if that were not the case.”

Although France remains committed to both NATO and its partnership to the US, it needs to “do more” to strengthen its own “independence in matters of defense and security,” Macron said.

He announced he would invite European leaders to a meeting in Paris next week to work on a plan to deliver a “durable peace,” which may include deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine “once peace has been signed” to prevent Russia from re-invading.

His comments come after Germany’s likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, advocated for talks with France and the United Kingdom - Europe’s two nuclear powers - to extend their nuclear protection.

But the current German chancellor Olaf Scholz urged for a “calm and wise approach,” telling reporters in Brussels on Thursday that Europe should not give up on US involvement in nuclear deterrent support.

“We are joined together with each other in NATO. There are very specific rules on this and what is particularly important is what we have in terms of nuclear sharing, which is organized in Germany. I believe that this should not be given up, that is the common view of all central parties in Germany,” Scholz said.

Macron has nodded to the idea before, telling Portuguese TV station RTP last month: “If my [fellow European leaders] want to proceed towards greater autonomy and a capacity for deterrence, well we must open that discussion.”

And on Monday, he told French newspaper Le Parisien, in comments confirmed to CNN by the Elysee Palace, that “Europeans who wish to deepen dialogue with us [on the question of nuclear deterrence] could … be involved with [the French military’s] deterrence exercises.”

The Wednesday speech came days after Macron met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a critical summit, following the disastrous show-down between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

A small number of nations are working together on a plan to stop the fighting, which would then be presented to the US, Starmer said. Macron revealed more about the plan in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, saying that France and the United Kingdom have proposed a month-long limited ceasefire in Ukraine.

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