French President Emmanuel Macron said tonight that "the Russian threat exists and affects us, and knows no borders," the Beta agency reports.
At a time when Moscow and Washington are getting closer, Macron said in a televised speech that Russia has "already turned the Ukrainian conflict into a global one," that it "violates our borders to kill opponents, manipulates elections in Romania, in Moldova," that it "organizes digital attacks on our hospitals," and "tries to manipulate our opinion with the lies it spreads on social media."
In his words, "this aggressiveness seems to know no bounds," and in the face of these dangers, "remaining an observer would be madness."
Macron said that "we remain committed to NATO and to our partnership with the United States of America (US), but we must do more, strengthen our independence in matters of defense and security. The future of Europe should not be decided in Washington or Moscow."
Macron announced that a meeting of the chiefs of general staff of the armies of countries "ready to guarantee future peace in Ukraine" will be held in France next week.
Peace in Ukraine "may also include the deployment of European forces. They would not go to fight on the front lines today, but they would be there when peace is signed to guarantee its full respect," Macron said.
He also said that he wanted to "open a strategic debate" on protecting Europe with a French "nuclear umbrella," but that the decision to use those weapons "has always been and will remain in the hands of the French president."
"Responding to the historic call of the future German Chancellor (Friedrich Merz), I have decided to open a strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent with our means of deterrence," Macron said.
Evoking the hypothesis of a French nuclear deterrent extended to the EU, he responded to Merco, who believes that it is necessary for the EU to prepare "for the worst-case scenario": NATO without US security guarantees, as the administration of US President Donald Trump is raising fears of a US disengagement from the EU in Ukraine, along with a historic break with the alliance with the Europeans.
Speaking about the US's intention to increase tariffs on EU goods, Macron described it as "incomprehensible" and said he hoped to convince Trump not to do so.
But, he said, "we need to prepare for the US to impose (additional) tariffs on European goods," as it has just done against Canada and Mexico.
"This decision, incomprehensible both for the American economy and for ours, will have consequences for some of our sectors," the French president warned.
All of these issues will be at the center of the extraordinary European Union summit on Thursday in Brussels, which aims, according to the Elysee Palace, to show that the twenty-seven are "accelerating" work on their defense.
At the end of the summit in Brussels on Thursday, according to Macron, "member states will say that they can increase their military spending without it being taken into account for their fiscal deficit. It will be decided on massive joint financing of the purchase and production on European soil of some of the most innovative types of ammunition, tanks, weapons and equipment."
It has been announced that Macron will host Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a supporter of both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and one of the most dissonant voices in the EU, for dinner tonight.
Radio Free Europe (RFE) reported that Macron said he wanted to open a debate on expanding France's nuclear deterrent to other European countries, as security risks have increased following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
France and Great Britain are the only two nuclear powers in Europe.
Macron also said in a televised speech that France would have to spend more on defense and would continue to help Ukraine. He acknowledged voters' concerns about Russia and about disruptions to the international order under the new US administration.
"I know you are rightly concerned about current events, which are disrupting the world order," Macron told voters.
"Russia has become a threat to France and Europe," he said, adding that "to watch and do nothing would be madness."
European countries are struggling to increase defense spending and maintain support for Ukraine after US President Donald Trump froze US military aid to Kiev and raised doubts about Washington's commitment to its European NATO allies.
Stressing that France is uniquely positioned in Europe thanks to its nuclear deterrent capability, Macron said he was open to talks about extending that protection to European allies.
He added that the final decision on nuclear weapons would remain in the hands of the French president.
"I have decided to open a strategic debate on protecting our allies on the European continent through our nuclear deterrent," he said in a televised address to the nation, responding to comments by likely next German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about expanding the nuclear umbrella.
France has nuclear capabilities in the air and at sea. Rafale fighter jets and nuclear submarines can attack at any time, only on instructions from the French president.
In the early days of the Cold War, former French President Charles de Gaulle developed a nuclear deterrent that was designed to be completely independent of the two dominant powers of the time, the Soviet Union and the United States.
Macron said in a televised address ahead of a key European Union defense summit that France would spend more on defense, though he did not say how much more. He said there would be no tax increases to fund it, but that difficult choices would have to be made.
He said he wanted to believe that the US would "remain on our side" and added that Europe must be prepared if that is no longer the case.
Macron's address followed a flurry of European diplomacy to bolster support for Ukraine and try to repair ties between Washington and Kiev after a tense meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last week.
France and Britain aim to finalize with Ukraine, probably "in a few days", a peace plan to be presented by the United States, while at the same time building bridges between the United States and Ukraine ahead of possible talks in Washington, diplomats told Reuters.
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