Opposition Parties Slam Macron’s Idea To Boost European Defence With French Nuclear Weapons

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Written by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher

Several opposition parties have attacked the proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron to share French nuclear weapons with the European Union. Macron’s controversy follows another recent one in which the erosion of France’s sovereignty and the legacy of Charles de Gaulle were highlighted in the most ironic way.

During a speech on April 28, Macron stated that the EU needs a common defence strategy and that French nuclear weapons could be a key component. According to him, this would provide the security guarantees that Europe expects and would also allow for neighbourly relations with Russia.

Macron stressed that a “credible European defence” needs to go beyond NATO, which “may mean deploying anti-missile shields” that will “block all missiles and deter the use of nuclear weapons.”

The French president said he was open to giving a more “European dimension” to vital interests, even if France’s doctrine has been to only use nuclear weapons when their own vital interests are threatened.

“I’m in favour of opening this debate, which must therefore include missile defence, long-range weapons and nuclear weapons for those who have them or who have American nuclear weapons on their soil,” he said.

However, his statements were criticised by all political parties.

“It is not appropriate for the head of state to say such things. Macron says he wants to start discussions on sharing nuclear weapons with European countries. This is extremely serious because it touches on the issue of French sovereignty,” said François-Xavier Bellamy, leader of the Republican Party list for the European Parliament elections, to the French channel CNews on April 28.

Thierry Mariani, an MEP from Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (Rassemblement National) party, said on April 28 that Macron had become a “threat to the nation.”

“Nuclear weapons will be followed by France’s place as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, which will also be given to the European Union […] Macron is becoming a threat to the nation!” the MEP wrote on X.

Meanwhile, the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party pointed out that “the head of state has dealt another blow to the credibility of French nuclear weapons. He is lumping everything into a single pile. Share nuclear weapons? Lose our sovereignty. This decision does not belong to the president but to the people.”

Mathilde Panot, leader of the LFI faction in the French National Assembly, said on RTL radio that she “does not believe in a common EU nuclear umbrella.”

“We will not resort to the use of nuclear weapons because of another country,” she said, calling Macron’s proposal madness and irresponsibility as it increases the risk of nuclear war in Europe.

LFI MP Bastien Lachaud also noted on X that Macron “wants to abandon the French nuclear deterrence doctrine.”

In turn, Florian Philippot, the head of the Patriots party, accused Macron of being a “traitor” on X, recalling on April 28 the words of General Charles de Gaulle, who argued in 1959:

“The defence of France must be French. […] It is essential that the defence is ours, that France defends itself, for itself and in its own way. If it were otherwise, if it were admitted for a long time that the defence of France stopped being part of the national framework and became confused or merged with something else, it would not be possible for us to maintain a State in our country.”

As Philippot points out, Macron is challenging the legacy of one of France’s most respected statesmen, which very well could lead to the French president’s demise considering his people’s fiercely independent spirit, something he has been eroding, especially after Russia launched its special military operation against Ukraine.

In fact, Moscow described the deployment of the French nuclear aircraft carrier, ironically called Charles de Gaulle, to Souda Bay on the Greek island of Crete for the largest NATO naval exercise in recent times as an “erosion of French sovereignty.”

According to Reuters, placing the Charles de Gaulle under the operational control of the Atlantic Alliance is “highly symbolic, not least because the warship is named after the former president who took France out of the alliance’s US-led command structure in 1966.”

Agreeing with Moscow’s position, “the decision to put the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier under NATO command drew criticism from the French far left and far right, who said it represented a loss of sovereign power,” Reuters reported.

Macron has consistently promoted pan-European defence, but the conversation has never reached the point of compromising French sovereignty. It is likely that this proposal will have negative effects on Macron’s popularity as the fiercely sovereign policies and spirit of Charles de Gaulle are being challenged in an unprecedented manner by the French president.

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