2024-04-30 02:23:32
French President Emmanuel Macron wants to discuss the use of nuclear weapons for “reliable European defense” against Russia, drawing criticism from politicians.
“I support the opening of this debate, which should include missile defense, firing long-range weapons, nuclear weapons for those who have them or who have American nuclear weapons on their soil,” Marcon said in an interview with the local media “Ebra ”.
According to Macron, the bloc’s common European defense must be stronger than what NATO already provides on the Old Continent. “France will maintain its doctrine, but is ready to contribute more to the defense of European soil,” the president also noted.
Far-right Marine Le Pen sharply criticized Macron, saying on Monday that his aim was to “deprive the French people of everything they have built”. Le Pen previously announced that if she were the country’s leader, she would not bow to the “greed of the EU” and that she would propose that nuclear deterrence be enshrined in the constitution as an “inalienable element of French sovereignty”. Center-right MP François-Xavier Bellamy from the EPP commented that “going down this path does not make you pro-European, because in fact Macron’s proposal does not make sense.”
MEP Thierry Mariani also reprimanded the French leader and said he was “becoming a national threat”. The left is also against Macron’s idea, as Bastien Lachaux, an MP and defense specialist, commented that “nuclear deterrence is not for sharing”. The party came out with a position that “there is no need to go further than the solidarity commitments already contained in the EU treaties”. However, the idea of the French president was supported by the Greens. The party’s leading EU candidate, Marie Toussaint, told local media that she supports “sharing the power of French weapons, including nuclear weapons.”
France is currently the only nuclear power in the EU, with the country having around 300 nuclear warheads. In recent weeks, the French president has decided to use harsher rhetoric against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, with many of his remarks garnering scorn rather than support. Macron first hinted at the bloc’s common defense in 2020 when he called for a “strategic dialogue” on “the role of France’s nuclear defense in the collective security of Europe” in a bid to open discussions with Germany, on whose territory the US has nuclear weapons. Paris repeated its proposal in 2022, but never got the go-ahead from Berlin.
However, in January, EPP leader Manfred Weber, who is also part of the German opposition, told Politico that Europe should “accept Macron’s proposal” in order to “build a European dimension for nuclear defense as a long-term goal.”