Trump spent months pushing NATO allies away, so France quietly built a nuclear alliance without him

France has made one of its biggest shifts in defense strategy since the 1960s, announcing plans to expand its nuclear arsenal and extend its nuclear protection to other European countries. President Emmanuel Macron laid out these changes in a speech at the Ile Longue submarine base in Brittany, near the port of Brest. He said the moves are a direct response to a less stable world, stating, “The next 50 years will be an era of nuclear weapons.”

To back this up, France plans to increase its current count of around 300 nuclear warheads and will launch a new nuclear-armed submarine called “The Invincible” in 2036. Eight European nations, the UK, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden, and Denmark, have agreed to join France’s new “advanced deterrence” strategy.

According to BBC, these partner countries could take part in exercises involving France’s air-launched nuclear capacity, known as the force de frappe, and could even host air bases where French nuclear bombers are stationed. France and Germany also jointly announced “closer cooperation” on nuclear deterrence, including German participation in French nuclear exercises, starting this year. Both countries were clear that this will “complement, not replace, NATO’s nuclear deterrent.”

Europe is building its own nuclear shield as America looks the other way

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded quickly, writing on X: “We are arming up together with our friends so that our enemies will never dare to attack us.” Despite this expansion, the core of France’s nuclear doctrine, first set by President Charles de Gaulle, stays the same. The French president will keep full and sole decision-making power over firing a nuclear missile, and there will be no explicit guarantee extended to partner nations.

The goal remains to convince any potential enemy that attacking France would come at “an unsustainable price to be paid.” France will also stop publicly sharing its total number of nuclear warheads going forward. This European push comes as the United States, under President Trump, has been pulling back and asking NATO allies to take on more responsibility for their own defense. His administration has also faced scrutiny on other fronts, including questions over whether the Iran attack threat was real.

Elbridge Colby, the US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, told NATO defense ministers in Brussels that Europe must take “primary responsibility” for defending its own homeland. He said US forces are increasingly focused on protecting the US itself and its interests in the Western Hemisphere, while also preparing for threats across multiple regions at the same time. Colby was clear this is not an exit from NATO, but rather a “return to and validation of its foundational purpose.”

He described today’s world as one where “power politics has returned, and military force is again being employed at a large scale,” and said the alliance needs to evolve into a “NATO 3.0” built on “hard and credible fighting strength.” He also praised allies for responding to Trump’s calls to raise defense spending, with some committing to 5% of their GDP.

The administration has separately drawn criticism over its handling of key government appointments, adding to a broader pattern of internal friction. For years, Trump has argued that NATO allies are not paying their fair share. 

However, recent research pushes back on this claim. A working paper on post-Cold War NATO members found no evidence that joining the alliance leads countries to cut defense spending, in fact, the effects were slightly positive or close to zero. This suggests that the idea of widespread free-riding within NATO may not hold up under scrutiny.