Macron’s Address: France Must Stand Against ‘Russian Threat’ With or Without the US and Expand Nuclear Deterrence
On the evening of 5 March, French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation in the face of ‘times of great uncertainty’ and global uncertainty as a result of the radical change in US policy towards Ukraine. In addition, Macron reminded the nation that the United States had also imposed customs restrictions on European goods.
The French President stressed that the threat from Russia extends to the whole of Europe. He emphasised that ‘this is not just a Russian-Ukrainian conflict, it is an international conflict’.
‘Russia is already using Iranian equipment and inviting North Korean soldiers to participate in the war. It interferes in our elections and poisons its opposition. They are spreading propaganda everywhere. This aggressiveness seems far away, but it is very close,’ Macron said.
This address comes ahead of the EU summit, which will discuss both support for Ukraine and the EU's defence capabilities.
The French president also wants to open a debate on expanding France's nuclear deterrent to protect allies on the European continent with French nuclear forces.
‘Responding to the historic call of the future German Chancellor (Merz - ed.), I have decided to open a strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent by our deterrent,’ he announced.
France's nuclear deterrent has played an important role in preserving peace and security in Europe since 1964, Macron said.
‘Whatever happens, the decision has always been and will remain in the hands of the President of the Republic, the Commander-in-Chief. Controlling our destiny, becoming more independent is something we must work on not only militarily but also economically,’ the French President said.
The President of Ukraine expressed gratitude to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron for his efforts to achieve peace.
‘I am grateful to Emmanuel Macron for his clear vision and our joint efforts to achieve peace. Peace must be real, not just a word: it cannot mean the surrender or disintegration of Ukraine,’ Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media platform X.
As The Gaze previously wrote, after the security summit of European leaders in London, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France could offer to deploy its nuclear weapons on the territory of its allies as a replacement for the United States.