France’s nuclear deterrent already covers allies, says far right leader Bardella

PARIS — The leader of France's main far-right party said that his country's nuclear deterrent "by definition" already protects its allies, days before European leaders meet to discuss shoring up the bloc's common defense capabilities.

"The defense of French interests does not stop at [French] borders," National Rally President Jordan Bardella said on radio station RTL. "Since [former French President Charles] de Gaulle, the French nuclear umbrella protects, by definition, certain neighbors and certain European partners."

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday it was necessary to have a "strategic conversation" with European allies about how France's nuclear weapons could contribute to Europe's security, amid concern over U.S. President Donald Trump's friendlier approach to Moscow and potential U.S. military disengagement from the continent.

Under France's nuclear doctrine, there is a "European dimension" to the country's so-called vital interests — which the weapons are designed to protect. However, what exactly that European dimension entails, and in which circumstances France might deploy its nuclear capacity beyond its own borders, is left purposefully vague.

Bardella struck a more open tone than his party's presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, who said on Saturday that "the French nuclear deterrent must remain a French nuclear deterrent" and it "must not be shared."

Bardella accused other European countries of having become overly dependent on U.S. defense equipment as well Washington's security guarantees and called for European preference in defense investments — a common refrain from Macron. European NATO allies have for decades been covered by the powerful U.S. nuclear deterrent.

In recent years, the French president has made repeated overtures to European countries, inviting them to a dialogue on how France’s nuclear arsenal could contribute to protecting the continent. Unlike the United Kingdom, France is not a member of NATO’s nuclear planning group.

Until now, European countries, especially Germany, had been reluctant to engage with Paris on the issue — but Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz recently said he was open to discussions with Paris and London about nuclear deterrence.

Options on the table could be to include other countries in nuclear deterrence exercises, Macron told Le Figaro in an interview published on Sunday. The French daily also reported that France could discuss positioning nuclear weapons in other European countries, similarly to what the U.S. currently does in countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium.

Bardella did state that it would be "national treason" for France to "share the button" of its nuclear arsenal with other European countries — but that proposal has never been made by French officials.

The French president never mentioned the possibility of delegating the decision to use nuclear weapons.

“The president of the republic takes the totally sovereign and always confidential decision to use nuclear weapons,” Macron told Le Figaro.