France will discuss expanding its 'nuclear umbrella'.

RT reported on March 6th that President Emmanuel Macron said France would consider using its nuclear arsenal to defend its European allies. He made this statement amid growing concerns among NATO members that the US under President Donald Trump might not protect them.

Last month, Germany's future chancellor, Friedrich Merz, suggested that Britain and France could expand their nuclear shields to protect Germany, particularly amid tensions between Russia and NATO over Ukraine. He said that such proposals had previously "always gone unanswered."

In a speech on the evening of March 5th, Macron declared his readiness to extend France's "nuclear umbrella." "In response to the historic call from Germany's future chancellor, I have decided to open a strategic debate on protecting our allies on the European continent through a nuclear deterrent," he said.

The French president said that the French people are "rightfully worried" about the "new era" under Trump. "I want to believe that America will continue to stand with us, but we must prepare for the possibility that this will not happen," he stressed.

President Trump, elected with the slogan "America First," has demanded that European allies contribute more to their own defenses. He also distanced himself from many NATO nations by refusing to unconditionally support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, instead opting for direct talks with Moscow.

Trump's drastic shift from the policies of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, has led European allies to question whether they can continue to rely on Washington for protection. “Europe is facing a clear and present danger on a scale none of us have ever witnessed in our adult lives,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote in a letter to EU member states on March 4th.

The US President emphasized that his top priority was brokering a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv to prevent the conflict from escalating into a full-scale war between nuclear powers. In a tense exchange in the Oval Office on February 28, Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of "gambling with World War III."

Russia has accused NATO of provocative actions and asserted that the West's supply of weapons to Ukraine is increasing the risk of dangerous escalation. “We believe that nuclear weapons are a tool for deterrence and preventing a nuclear war. That is how we approach this issue,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared last year. “We will do everything to avoid a confrontation,” he added.