PARIS — Far-right leader Jordan Bardella pushed back against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to make France’s nuclear doctrine more European in an interview Friday.
“What I dispute in this dialogue [with European countries] is that we are wrong to think that deterrence is only nuclear; it is primarily conventional, and here again we have missions in Eastern Europe that must be maintained,” the National Rally’s president told TV news channel LCI, referring to French troop presence in Romania and Estonia and air policing missions in the Baltics.
“As members of NATO and the EU, we have a duty to provide mutual assistance,” he added.
Bardella acknowledged that France’s nuclear doctrine has always foreseen that the country’s vital interests do not stop at the French borders.
“When it comes to nuclear power, I defend principles, and those principles are that there can be no sharing, no co-financing, and no co-decision-making on the nuclear button,” the MEP also said.
The Elysée Palace has always stressed that any decision to launch a nuclear weapon would remain with the French president.
The National Rally, historically skeptical of engagement with both NATO and the European Union, is leading early polls for next year’s pivotal presidential election. If longtime leader Marine Le Pen’s appeal to shorten or overturn her five-year election ban related to embezzlement charges is unsuccessful, the 30-year-old Bardella will likely run in her place.
Bardella’s remarks come a few days ahead of a landmark speech Macron is set to deliver on how France’s nuclear weapons can contribute to Europe’s security. Paris has been in talks with European capitals such as Berlin, Stockholm and Warsaw over how French nukes could help the continent deter Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Alongside the United Kingdom, France is one of two Western European nuclear powers. Its arsenal is both airborne and seaborne, with at least one submarine patrolling the seas at all times. When asked whether the National Rally would be open to bringing back a land-based nuclear deterrent — a capacity that France has abandoned after the Cold War — Bardella replied: “It could be part of the debate.”
During the interview, Bardella also reiterated his party’s pledge to leave NATO’s integrated command if it came to power.
Bardella’s comments come across as more nuanced than other members of the National Rally.
“If Mr. Macron thinks he can give France’s nuclear weapons to the EU, he will face impeachment proceedings for treason,” said Philippe Olivier, another MEP from the far-right party and a close adviser to Le Pen.
Far-right leader Bardella criticizes Macron’s pan-European nuclear push
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