The Telegraph: France offers its nuclear shield to Europe

France is ready to use its nuclear deterrent to protect Europe. To do this, it may send nuclear-armed fighter jets to Germany.

This is reported by The Telegraph, citing sources.

The deployment of French fighter jets in Germany will send a signal to Putin and put pressure on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to do the same.

Friedrich Merz, who is likely to become the next Chancellor of Germany, has called on Europe to get rid of its dependence on American support, which US President Donald Trump is planning to significantly limit.

The United States has for years guaranteed the security of Europe with its arsenal of nearly 100 nuclear missiles, most of which are stationed at a US military base in Germany.

French nuclear deterrent forces are currently independent of NATO, while British ones are a key part of the Allianceʼs defense strategy.

However, sources say France is unlikely to provide its “nuclear umbrella” to Europe unless the United States takes its nuclear arsenal away from Germany.

• Officially, five countries possess nuclear weapons: France, Great Britain, the USA, China and Russia. They have signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. At the same time, there are countries that have nuclear weapons, but have not signed the treaty — India, Pakistan and North Korea. There is also a state with a policy of "nuclear ambiguity" — Israel does not officially confirm the presence of nuclear weapons, but is considered a nuclear state.

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