Élysée rep: France to retain exclusive control over its nuclear arsenal

France intends to maintain exclusive control over its nuclear arsenal, Minister-Delegate and government spokesperson Sophie Primas stated at a briefing.  

She ensured that nuclear deterrence forces will remain exclusively French in terms of their development, production, and use, Caliber.Az reports citing Russian media.  

Primas emphasized that this was the position of the president and recalled that it remained unchanged since the time of France's first president, Charles de Gaulle.   However, she added that "the issue of relocating warheads to other European countries falls under the authority of the head of state."  

According to the article, the idea of establishing a European nuclear shield using France’s nuclear forces has been repeatedly raised by Friedrich Merz, the CDU/CSU candidate for German chancellor whose party won the majority of votes at the recent Bundestags election, which makes him the likely future head of government.  

As Caliber.Az recalls, these remarks came just as French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to hold a televised address to the nation on the evening of March 5, which will touch on the Ukraine crisis and on the threat of a transatlantic trade war. The presidential speech comes amid European countries scrambling to boost defence spending and maintain support for Ukraine  

By Nazrin Sadigova