The French nuclear arsenal, which includes 290 warheads, is the fourth largest in the world.
French President Emmanuel Macron met on Monday, April 20, in Gdańsk with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The central theme of the talks was the initiative to create a 'nuclear umbrella' under the auspices of France in Europe. Poland joined this project against the backdrop of a constant Russian threat and changes in Washington's strategy, reports International French Radio in Russian.
Poland announced that it has joined the group of countries that Emmanuel Macron called upon to cooperate in creating a new system of European nuclear deterrence under the auspices of France. "This is an exclusive group of countries that understand the necessity of European sovereignty. We live in a world where we need nuclear deterrence capabilities," said Donald Tusk.
France is the only EU country with its own nuclear arsenal. According to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) for 2025, the French nuclear arsenal, which includes 290 warheads, is the fourth largest in the world (after Russia, the USA, and China).
As emphasized in Paris, this does not involve the transfer of French nuclear weapons to other countries. The weapons remain French, and the decision to use them is the exclusive prerogative of the President of France. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) prohibits the transfer of weapons and control over them to other countries.
