On March 5, French President Macron mentioned a nuclear umbrella in a speech to the public.
“Russian aggression is not just a problem in Ukraine, but a problem that threatens the security of all of Europe,” Macron said, adding, “I want to believe the US will stay by our side, but we have to be ready if that isn’t the case.”
He added, “Responding to the historic call of the future German chancellor, I have decided to open a strategic debate on the protection of our allies in Europe through our nuclear deterrent.”
Earlier, the leader of Germany’s Friedrich Merz from Christian Democratic Union, said, “We need to have discussions with both the Britain and the French about whether nuclear sharing, or at least nuclear security from the UK and France, could also apply to us.”
On March 6, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized Macron’s speech in a briefing, saying, “One can conclude that France is thinking more about war, about continuing the war.”
On the same day, President Putin took aim at Macron, saying, “There are still people who want to go back to the times of Napoleon, forgetting how it ended,” he warned.
