French nuclear-armed jets could be stationed in the UK as part of Emmanuel Macron’s expanded defence doctrine. “We must strengthen our nuclear deterrent in the face of multiple threats, and we must consider our deterrence strategy deep within the European continent, with full respect for our sovereignty,” the French president said.

Announcing “the gradual implementation of what I would call advanced deterrence”, Mr Macron said France would allow the temporary deployment of elements of its strategic air forces – including nuclear-capable aircraft – to participating European countries, including Britain. The announcement builds on the Northwood Declaration signed by Paris and London in July, in which the two countries stated their nuclear forces were independent “but can be coordinated”.

Mr Macron also used the symbolic setting of Île Longue – the country’s Atlantic nuclear fortress in Brittany – to announce the first increase in France’s nuclear warhead stockpile since the 1990s. Currently, France’s arsenal is estimated to be just under 300. As of 2025, the UK possesses a stockpile of approximately 225 warheads.

“Our strategic air forces will thus be able to spread out across the European continent,” Mr Macron said, describing a dispersion “like an archipelago of force” designed to “complicate our adversaries’ calculations” and provide new strategic depth, according to The Telegraph.

Eight countries have agreed to participate in the scheme: Britain, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark. Germany and Poland have asked for shelter under France’s nuclear umbrella and do not have their own deterrent, meaning it is more likely that the jets would be stationed there than in Britain.

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During his state visit to the UK in July, Mr Macron and Sir Keir Starmer pledged to work “more closely than ever before” on nuclear deterrence.

Alongside nuclear coordination, Mr Macron also said: “With regard to deep strike capabilities, Germany, the United Kingdom and France […] will work together on very long-range missile projects”.

The trilateral effort – under the European long-range strike approach (Elsa) initiative – aims to develop new long-range conventional strike systems to counter Russia’s expansion of its missile arsenal. An overhaul was essential given the collapse of global nuclear governance, Mr Macron warned.