Overview
- France will increase the number of nuclear warheads for the first time since at least 1992, with President Emmanuel Macron declining to specify the new total.
- Macron said France will no longer publish figures for its nuclear arsenal, reversing past transparency practices.
- An “advanced” deterrence plan allows temporary hosting of French nuclear‑capable aircraft by Germany, Britain, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark.
- France and Germany established a nuclear steering group to begin concrete cooperation this year, including German conventional participation in French nuclear exercises, in a framework that adds to NATO’s deterrence.
- Macron reaffirmed that only the French president decides on nuclear use and ruled out placing French warheads on foreign aircraft, as several European leaders voiced support and ICAN condemned the move as risky and costly.