Macron declares himself defender of Europe Will the EU chip in for the nuclear umbrella?

On March 5, French President Macron took a rather unusual step by addressing the nation with a special speech. What prompted this?

At the heart of his address was the war in Ukraine, the new geopolitical reality, and the need to strengthen European security. Macron emphasized that the world is entering an era where the international order is under threat. He lamented that, in the wake of the Ukrainian catastrophe, the United States is reconsidering its policy, reducing support for Kyiv, and imposing trade tariffs on Europe. On the other hand, according to Macron, Russia's policy goes far beyond Ukraine — Moscow is spending a significant portion of its budget on rearmament and increasing the size of its military. All of this, the French president stated, requires decisive action from Europe. He noted that Europe must take its security into its own hands.

In this context, Macron called for continued military and diplomatic support for Ukraine, specifically mentioning the possibility of deploying European forces in Ukraine after the signing of a peace agreement — not for combat operations, but to guarantee the enforcement of the peace treaty. In the near future, Paris will gather the military leadership of European countries to discuss this issue.

Among other measures to strengthen European security, Macron voiced a rather controversial idea — since France possesses nuclear weapons, it is ready to provide a nuclear umbrella to all of Europe, while the French president retains the sole right to make decisions regarding their use.

Listening to Macron, one can't help but shiver — it seems as though Russian missiles are already halfway to the Louvre. His voice is tense, on the verge of betraying a tremor, but with one final effort of will and character, the anxiety is restrained, and the world now sees that before us stands not a boy, but the man of European civilization.

However, behind this emotional facade lies ordinary self-interest. The French are not actually very afraid of Russian aggression and do not believe in it all that much. What they are really afraid of is that Washington and Moscow, apparently, do not intend to include Paris as one of the participants in a global security agreement, the so-called "Yalta 2.0." Currently, the project for this agreement includes only three countries: the United States, China, and Russia. Paris is now trying to create artificial noise in order to bargain for a place in the sun. Ukraine, just as three years ago, remains nothing more than a bargaining chip.

With these actions, Paris is desperately trying to flex its muscles and declare itself as a global power that must be taken into account. The reality is that France's nuclear umbrella barely covers itself, and in order to extend it over all of Europe, large sums of money will be required. Apparently, Macron is trying to sell the idea to Europeans that they need to chip in for the "umbrella" and additionally grant him the right to decide when and against whom nuclear missiles can be launched. But it is safe to assume that there are no gullible buyers, and the strategic discussions he has also proposed to his partners will likely turn into a field for sarcastic jabs aimed at France.

Macron understands that nothing will come of this, but in the end, it's all about the image of a politician supposedly ready to stand up for Europe's honor. Rumor has it that one of the goals in crafting this image is his desire to secure the position of European Commissioner for Defense after his presidential term ends, a role that was created relatively recently. No matter how you look at it — it's all self-interest, which is being tested on the unfortunate Ukraine. Meanwhile, Europe is trying to assert its subjectivity, but unfortunately, in the hands of leaders like Macron, it only loses it.