"To be free, one needs to be feared"

Killjoy

Killjoy

Propelling The Farce!!
Valued Senior Member
Looks like somebody's itchin' to carry a bigger stick...

Macron says France must be 'feared' as he announces increase in nuclear arsenal


Emmanuel Macron has announced France will increase its nuclear arsenal - claiming that France needs to be "feared" on the world stage.

The French President will also allow temporary deployment of its nuclear-armed aircraft to allied countries for the first time ever.

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France will also allow European partners to join in deterrence exercises, which has been welcomed across the continent.

In a joint statement, Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the two countries would deepen integration in deterrence starting this year, "including German conventional participation in French nuclear exercises and joint visits to strategic sites".
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"I have decided to increase the numbers of warheads of our arsenal," Macron said.

"My responsibility is to ensure that our deterrence maintains - and will maintain in the future - its assured destructive power.

"If we had to use our arsenal, no state, however powerful, could shield itself from it, and no state, however vast, would recover from it," Macron said.
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Seattle said:
I don't think anyone is afraid of Macron or France, big stick or not.
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True dat.

Last time the French intimidated anybody was probably when a portion of the nazi German high command felt some trepidation about taking them on in 1940. We all know how that worked out.
 
pjdude1219 said:
thats kinda of terrifying considering french nuclear doctrine.
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It's difficult to picture them actually using the things. I'm betting Macron just wants to let everybody know that they're still the "all beef Franks", if you'll pardon the expression. What with Germania making noise about assembling the largest army in Fortress Europe.
 
Killjoy said:
True dat.

Last time the French intimidated anybody was probably when a portion of the nazi German high command felt some trepidation about taking them on in 1940. We all know how that worked out.
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The point here is that France has a nuclear deterrent that does not rely on US technology. Now that the US is abandoning NATO and starting to side with Russia as a fellow autocracy, Europe needs a credible independent nuclear deterrent. France is the only European nation able to do this. They are in talks with Germany and other EU members about extending the French nuclear umbrella to cover more countries.

The point is not to intimidate but to deter Russia - and, who knows, maybe one day even the US, from attacking Europe.
 
exchemist said:
The point here is that France has a nuclear deterrent that does not rely on US technology. Now that the US is abandoning NATO and starting to side with Russia as a fellow autocracy, Europe needs a credible independent nuclear deterrent. France is the only European nation able to do this. They are in talks with Germany and other EU members about extending the French nuclear umbrella to cover more countries.

The point is not to intimidate but to deter Russia - and, who knows, maybe one day even the US, from attacking Europe.
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I'm down with the whole program. Especially the plan to station French nuclear armed aircraft in other NATO countries as part of the deterrent.
 
exchemist said:
The point here is that France has a nuclear deterrent that does not rely on US technology. Now that the US is abandoning NATO and starting to side with Russia as a fellow autocracy, Europe needs a credible independent nuclear deterrent. France is the only European nation able to do this. They are in talks with Germany and other EU members about extending the French nuclear umbrella to cover more countries.

The point is not to intimidate but to deter Russia - and, who knows, maybe one day even the US, from attacking Europe.
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Yep, and while it ain't great, it's an entirely understandable and reasonable move. Though at present I'd have to say that the US is a vastly greater threat to the rest of the world than is Russia.
 
Killjoy said:
I'm down with the whole program. Especially the plan to station French nuclear armed aircraft in other NATO countries as part of the deterrent.
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De Gaulle was right, all those years ago. I just wish the UK deterrent was not bought-in from the USA. But then, who, other than De Gaulle, would have dreamed things would come to such a pass. :confused:
 
Killjoy said:
It's difficult to picture them actually using the things. I'm betting Macron just wants to let everybody know that they're still the "all beef Franks", if you'll pardon the expression. What with Germania making noise about assembling the largest army in Fortress Europe.
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I get it but there still the only country that has a warning shot doctrine when it comes to nukes.
 
Oh yes the ASMP. Given its yield is 5 to 15 times the Nagasaki Fat Man, I've figured this doctrine is French swagger. That yield, even over uninhabited area (as the doctrine suggests) would cause la merde to hit the ventilateur. It's not a warning shot, it's at minimum an eco catastrophe spread over thousands of square miles. It's a provocation to any nation with nukes, not a warning shot.
They should stick with taunting, e.g.

"I unclog my nose in your direction, sons of a window-dresser! So, you think you could out-clever us French folk with your silly, knees-bent, running about, advancing behavior! I'll wave my private parts at your aunties you... cheesy leather, second-hand, electric donkey bottom biters!"
 
Pinball1970 said:
We still have Trident?
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Bought in from the USA. I've no doubt that the US would cheerfully threaten to cut off maintenance and spares if relations were to deteriorate, as they cosy up to Russia and get serious about wrecking the EU in line with their stated new foreign strategy. There might even be a "kill switch" somewhere in the mechanisms that they could use to deactivate it.

Whereas France's deterrent is manufactured by Ariane. That's what the EU needs.
 
TheVat said:
Oh yes the ASMP. Given its yield is 5 to 15 times the Nagasaki Fat Man, I've figured this doctrine is French swagger. That yield, even over uninhabited area (as the doctrine suggests) would cause la merde to hit the ventilateur. It's not a warning shot, it's at minimum an eco catastrophe spread over thousands of square miles. It's a provocation to any nation with nukes, not a warning shot.
They should stick with taunting, e.g.

"I unclog my nose in your direction, sons of a window-dresser! So, you think you could out-clever us French folk with your silly, knees-bent, running about, advancing behavior! I'll wave my private parts at your aunties you... cheesy leather, second-hand, electric donkey bottom biters!"
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On the other hand, once you blast 'em with it, you can bloody well say "You were warned".;)
 
"Everything old is new again..."

I still remember when Fortress Europe (well... ...mainly a bunch of German hippies) freaked out when the USA deployed Pershing II missiles to the Continent. Say... ...maybe we still have some in mothballs that we could sell to Germany or Poland...

Macron: Next 50 Years 'Will Be an Age of Nuclear Weapons'

Macron didn't disclose how many warheads will be added—Deutsche Welle notes the current figure hovers around 290—but he warned that "the next half-century will be an age of nuclear weapons."
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