A Franco-British Nuclear Umbrella as Clouds Gather

Lost in the noise of President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to London, where British frustrations over migrants crossing the Channel drowned out geopolitical issues, was a remarkable turning point for the atomic age: an announcement to coordinate Europe’s only two nuclear arsenals and their response to any “extreme” threat to European security.

It’s a forceful attempt to address the twin defense pressures facing the continent, namely a US administration whose reliability as an ally is in doubt and a Russia less deterred by Western pressure. Only four years ago, Macron was humiliated by the Anglosphere when the Aukus deal torpedoed a key French submarine agreement with Australia. He’s proving somewhat more successful at binding the Brits closer to European goals with Keir Starmer these days, when the US-UK relationship no longer feels quite so special and when they’re all facing a tariff hit. Macron’s upgraded defense agreement with Starmer comes after a recent French treaty with Poland and armaments cooperation with Sweden.