France to expand nuclear arsenal, French president says

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics France to expand nuclear arsenal, French president says French President Emmanuel Macron says France will increase its nuclear arsenal and allow the temporary deployment of its nuclear-armed aircraft to other European nations. World France to expand nuclear arsenal, French president says March 3, 20264:40 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition Eleanor Beardsley France to expand nuclear arsenal, French president says Listen &middot; 1:56 1:56 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5732799/nx-s1-9671250" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript French President Emmanuel Macron says France will increase its nuclear arsenal and allow the temporary deployment of its nuclear-armed aircraft to other European nations. Sponsor Message A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: France has announced it will increase the size of its nuclear arsenal for the first time in decades and intensify nuclear weapons cooperation with eight European allies, including Germany, the U.K. and Poland. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports the new strategy comes as Russia is getting more aggressive and the U.S. is stepping back from the continent.

+ (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: (Speaking French). ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Standing in front of a massive nuclear submarine at a base in Brittany, French President Emmanuel Macron announced what he called France's new forward deterrence doctrine. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) MACRON: (Speaking French). BEARDSLEY: "We've got to reinforce our nuclear dissuasion in the face of a combination of threats and rethink our strategy with the European continent in mind," he said. "We're living in a time with enormous risks, which justifies a hardening of our model. The gravest threat for Europe," said Macron, "is the long and cruel war Russia is waging against Ukraine." Doubts over the Trump administration's commitment to European defense also prompted the change. For decades, American nukes have protected the continent. Macron's speech came as a new war is being waged in the Middle East. France and Britain are the only European nations other than Russia to have nuclear weapons. ALAIN BAUER: It's the only free and independent nuclear power in Europe. Even the Brits are under heavy American control. BEARDSLEY: That's defense and security expert Alain Bauer. BAUER: For the first time, we are not reducing our powers, but we are expanding it in numbers, in force, in modernization. And probably we will expand it in the way we may use it. BEARDSLEY: Macron said France had consulted with the U.S. and NATO and the moves are compatible with the existing systems. Joint exercises are to begin this year, but the French president will remain the only one with his finger on the nuclear button. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris. Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(84)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();