France Announces Nuclear ‘Joint Exercises’ With Germany

France and Germany announced a major step toward deeper nuclear deterrence cooperation on Monday, with Germany set to participate in French nuclear exercises and conduct joint visits to strategic sites as part of a new high-level steering group.

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at a submarine base in Brittany, outlined plans to expand France’s nuclear arsenal and extend “forward deterrence” to European allies—including through joint drills.

• “Those who want to be free must be feared. Those who want to be feared must be strong,” Macron said.
• He also announced “the temporary deployment of elements of our strategic air forces to allied countries,” but said that the use of the nuclear weapons will be solely France’s decision.

Details are deliberately kept vague. France is not part of nato’s nuclear planning group. Even the U.S. could be kept in the dark about the strategies and abilities France and Germany are coordinating until they are used.

According to a joint declaration yesterday, Germany’s participation in French nuclear exercises this year will be conventional in nature.

• The two partners will also establish a high-level nuclear steering group to optimize the combination of conventional, missile defense and French nuclear capabilities.
• The statement claims, “This Franco-German cooperation will add to, not substitute for, nato’s nuclear deterrence and nato’s nuclear sharing arrangements, to which Germany contributes and will continue to contribute.”

Germany consistently claims it is acting in agreement with nato interests, yet its actions undermine the strength of the alliance, which was originally established to keep its military down.

As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry warned in “France’s Deadly Ignorance About Germany”: “France under Macron is wholeheartedly supporting a European military with nuclear weapons. But little does France know to what end Germany plans to use this power!”