US EditionNATO's Rutte backs Macron's nuclear revamp but says US umbrella is ultimate guarantee
France will increase its nuclear warheads for the first time since 1992 and allow temporary forward-basing in Europe while keeping sole decision authority in Paris, officials said.
- On Monday, Emmanuel Macron announced a 'forward deterrence' doctrine, increasing warheads and allowing forward-basing while Paris retains sole decision authority.
- Amid growing doubts about U.S. reliability, Macron launched a March 2025 strategic debate as European unease grew after U.S. policy documents, Greenland tensions, and JD Vance's 'I just hate bailing out Europe' remark last year.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz immediately announced a Franco-German nuclear steering group and pledged Germany’s conventional support for French nuclear exercises before year-end, while Macron said Poland, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden could join wargames and visits.
- The change complicates adversary calculations and will require new allied coordination fora beyond NATO's nuclear planning framework, but Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, stressed the U.S. umbrella remains the ultimate guarantor.
- Russia's roughly 1,500 non-strategic warheads mean France lacks flexible sub-strategic options, while the Baltic states, Norway, and Finland are absent and a Euroskeptic successor may reverse policy next year.
17 Articles
17 Articles
NATO's Rutte backs Macron's nuclear revamp but says US umbrella is ultimate guarantee
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron's pledge to expand his country's nuclear deterrent but said the U.S. nuclear umbrella would remain the ultimate guarantor of European security.
Macron vows nuclear arsenal boost as Europe turns to nukes amid rising global threats
France expands nuclear arsenal as Emmanuel Macron increases warheads while Donald Tusk signals Poland's interest in obtaining nuclear weapons amid growing European security concerns.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron's commitment to extend his country's nuclear deterrence capacity, but said that the U.S. nuclear umbrella will remain the top security guarantee...
How Europe is rediscovering the bomb
Caught between bellicose Russia and an unsteady U.S., Paris is expanding its nuclear arsenal and moving to strengthen European deterrence. The EU's only nuclear power announced on March 2 that it would increase the number of its warheads from roughly 290 to undisclosed levels — the first such move since 1992. France is also signalling its new nuclear "forward deterrence" could extend to European allies, while inviting them to joint nuclear exerc…
NATO’s Rutte backs Macron’s nuclear revamp but says US umbrella is ultimate guarantee
BRUSSELS, March 5 - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron's pledge to expand his country's nuclear deterrent but said the U.S. nuclear umbrella would remain the ultimate guarantor of European security. Read more at straitstimes.com.
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