France offers nuclear shield to Europe as US threatens to withdraw forces: Report

France has reportedly expressed readiness to use its nuclear deterrent to help protect Europe against potential threats amid US plans to withdraw its forces from the continent.

The British daily The Telegraph cited an unnamed French official as saying that the country’s fighter jets carrying nuclear weapons could be deployed to Germany as US President Donald Trump threatens to pull American troops out of Europe.

The source said the French deployment of fighter jets would “send a message,” adding that German diplomats had suggested that it would also pressure Britain to do the same.

“Posting a few French nuclear jet fighters in Germany should not be difficult and would send a strong message,” the source said.

The British paper reported that Friedrich Merz, who is expected to be the next German chancellor after winning his country’s elections on Sunday, had called on London and Paris to extend their nuclear protection as he seeks “independence” for Europe from the United States.

French President Emmanuel Macron was reported to have spoken with Merz on Sunday night before traveling to the White House to present his plan for European security and the defense of Ukraine to Trump.

At the White House summit, held on the third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war, the US president suggested Washington would not provide security guarantees to Ukraine after a peace deal was signed.

Speaking alongside Trump, the French president said peace “must not be a surrender of Ukraine” as he also called on Europeans to do more to protect the continent.

Merz said last Friday that Paris and London should discuss “whether their nuclear protection could also be extended to us” before warning that the Trump administration was now “indifferent to the fate of Europe.”

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The report by The Telegraph comes as Macron has been pushing Europe to hold a debate on the role that French nuclear weapons can play in Europe’s defense.

France’s arsenal is believed to contain an estimated 300 nuclear weapons, under its “force de dissuasion” program, with sea and air-based launch capabilities.

Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent consists of four Vanguard-class submarines which can carry up to 16 warheads each.

In response to years of military and political provocations by the US and European countries, Russia began its special military operation in Ukraine in 2022.

Russia has managed to gain control of a fifth of Ukraine and has been slowly advancing in the east for months. Ukraine’s military, supported by the US and European countries, grapples with manpower shortages and tries to hold to a chunk of territory in western Russia.

Russia has demanded an end to the West’s military and political provocations on its borders and Ukraine’s permanent neutrality under any peace deal. Ukraine on the other hand has demanded Russia’s withdrawal from the captured lands and wants NATO membership.

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