00:00It's a highly strategic debate opened by French President Emmanuel Macron wants to explore
00:07with his European partners the possibility of extending France's nuclear deterrent protection
00:13to the EU.
00:14In Europe, two countries have nuclear weapons, France and the United Kingdom.
00:19Paris is believed to have 290 warheads, while London has 225.
00:25However, the two capitals differ in terms of political legitimacy, as the UK is no longer
00:31part of the European Union, and they also have different levels of strategic flexibility.
00:54British weapons can be launched from submarines, as can France's, but Paris can also use fighter
01:09bombers to drop its atomic weapons.
01:11Expanding France's nuclear deterrent would require considerable political and doctrinal
01:17consideration.
01:19If we extend the nuclear deterrent, it means that we are ready to use nuclear weapons to
01:23potentially protect a European state or a NATO state.
01:27But it also means that we are exposed to a risk of retaliation from a state such as
01:33Russia.
01:34And it means that at that moment, Russia could, again it's quite hypothetical, but could
01:39launch nuclear weapons against French territory, against a French city, for example.
01:44Professor Wasinski believes that both French and British nuclear warheads are sufficient
01:50to deter an adversary, as these weapons are highly powerful.
01:54However, others argue that this balance of power is not enough to counter Russia's 4,380
02:01nuclear warheads.
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