00:00France plans to expand its nuclear arsenal and extend its deterrent role to include other European countries.
00:07President Emmanuel Macron says the shift responds to an increasingly unstable strategic environment,
00:12warning that the next 50 years will be shaped by nuclear weapons.
00:17Macron announced that France will increase the number of its nuclear warheads from the current level of around 300.
00:23The aim, he said, is to convince any potential adversary that an attack on France would come at an unsustainable
00:31cost.
00:32However, Macron stressed that there would be no explicit nuclear guarantee extended to partner countries
00:38and that the decision to use nuclear weapons remains solely with the French president.
00:42He also revealed plans for a new nuclear-armed submarine set to enter service in 2036, to be named the
00:50Invincible.
00:50Macron added that eight other European countries, including the UK, Germany, Denmark and Belgium,
00:57have agreed to take part in a new advanced deterrence framework.
01:00This will include joint exercises and the potential hosting of French nuclear-capable bombers.
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