French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he has ordered an increase in the number of nuclear warheads in France's arsenal, declaring that Paris will no longer disclose the size of its stockpile as part of a shift toward what he called "advanced deterrence."
"I have ordered an increase in the number of nuclear warheads in our arsenal to put an end to any speculation," Macron said in a speech at the Ile Longue naval base.
"We will no longer communicate the size of our nuclear arsenal," he said.
Framing the move as necessary in a deteriorating global security climate, Macron argued that "we cannot be satisfied with the current trajectory" and that "a strengthening of our arsenal is indispensable."
At the same time, he insisted that France was not entering into an arms race. "It is not about entering into any arms race. That has never been our doctrine," he said.
"Let me be clear from the outset: there will be no sharing of the ultimate decision, nor of its planning, nor of its implementation," he said.
Macron also outlined a broader European dimension to France's deterrence.
"Germany will naturally be a key partner in this effort, the most ambitious in the spirit of the Aachen Treaty," he said, noting that "the first stages of cooperation will begin this year and may include visits to strategic sites and joint exercises."
"Beyond our British and German partners already mentioned, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark will join this effort," he said.
"On deep strike, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, under our so-called ELSA initiative, will work together on very long-range missile projects," Macron further added.
He emphasized that the initiative would not replace NATO arrangements.
"The advanced deterrence we propose is a distinct effort, with its own intrinsic value, and fully complementary to NATO at both the strategic and technical levels," he said.
