“It must be said, we are entering a new era,” the French President Emmanuel Macron said in an evening address to the nation.
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French President Emmanuel Macron has said he will discuss extending the French nuclear deterrent to European allies to protect the continent in the face of threats from Russia.
Macron, in a televised evening address to the nation on Wednesday, described Russia as a “threat to France and Europe” and said he had decided “to open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent by our (nuclear) deterrent.”
He said the use of France’s nuclear weapons would remain only in the hands of the French president. France is the only nuclear power in the European Union.
After setting the context of the current political situation between the United States and Europe, Macron said, “The United States of America, our ally, has changed its position on this war, supporting Ukraine less and leaving doubt about what comes next.”
Macron then emphasised the need for continued support for Kyiv and stronger European military capabilities. He stated, "Russia has become, today and for a long time, a threat to France and to Europe."
He questioned whether Putin's Russia would stop after Ukraine, especially as it continues to rearm itself more than ever and cast doubt on his ability to convince US President Donald Trump.
"Russia, under President Putin, is violating our borders to assassinate opponents, manipulating elections in Romania and Moldova, organising cyberattacks against our hospitals to disrupt their operations, attempting to manipulate our opinions with lies spread on social media, and, at its core, testing our limits," Macron said.
Macron casts doubt on "US as a reliable ally"
During his speech, Macron warned that Europe must prepare for the possibility that the US may not always be a reliable security partner.
He said, "I want to believe that the US will stand by our side, but we have to be ready for that not to be the case," urging Europe to become more independent from its long-standing ally.
“It must be said, we are entering a new era,” he said.
In signs of what was to come, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday proposed a Rearm Europe Plan she said could see member states mobilise up to €800 billion to finance a massive ramp-up in defence spending, hours after Washington suspended all military aid to Ukraine, putting pressure on the bloc to increase its own assistance.
On Thursday, European leaders will gather in Brussels for an extraordinary summit dedicated to defence and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, as the EU bloc ramps up efforts to increase defence in the fast-changing geopolitical climate, some EU leaders continue to engage in diplomacy with Washington under Trump.
Macron spoke on the phone successively with Trump and Zelenskyy and reiterated "France's determination to work with all the parties to achieve a solid and lasting peace in Ukraine,” his office said, without giving details of the discussion with Trump.
While UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he has been speaking with Trump to affirm the US support for Ukraine.
Macron and Starmer are leading the call for a post-conflict peacekeeping force in Ukraine to prevent Russia from invading again if Moscow and Kyiv reach a truce to put a stop to Russia’s invasion, launched in February 2022.