President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will increase its nuclear warheads and allow for the deployment of nuclear-capable aircraft to foreign soil. 

In a speech on Monday, the French leader said nuclear-capable war planes will be deployed to seven European countries, including Germany and Poland. “Today, a new step of France’s deterrence can now be taken. We are entering the path of what I call forward deterrence,” he explained.

Macron also went on to say France will increase the number of nuclear weapons in its stockpile. He said expanding Paris’s strategic arsenal was needed as “our competitors have evolved, as have our partners.” The French leader said Paris would stop providing information on the size of its nuclear arsenal. 

The world’s nine nuclear-armed states all appear to be advancing and expanding their strategic weapons systems. Last month, the New Start Treaty expired. The pact was the last nuclear arms control agreement between the US and Russia. There are no ongoing discussions to replace New Start. 

The US has also accused China of testing nuclear weapons and suggested that Washington would need to take similar steps to maintain parity. 

Macron said that Paris would need to increase the size of its nuclear arsenal to maintain deterrence for Europe. “We must strengthen our nuclear deterrent in the face of multiple threats, and we must consider our deterrence strategy deep within the European continent, with full respect for our sovereignty.” The French leader added, “To be free, one needs to be feared.”