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The Franco-German alliance is not a replacement for NATO’s nuclear umbrella, the German Chancellor stressed.
Published on 17 Jul 2026
Germany’s military will take part in nuclear drills in France for the first time this year, as part of a new joint “deterrence” strategy, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
The German leader revealed this at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron near Cologne in Germany on Friday, saying it could be the start of a new “doctrine”.
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“We will have the German military to participate in a nuclear operation by the French military at the end of this year,” Merz said.
“We are moving slowly, maybe this will lead to a new theory, but it is too early to say that today,” he said.
The move by Germany and France to strengthen nuclear cooperation confirms the growth of European self-reliance between them uncertainty about US commitments.
Washington has revealed plans to cut some weapons he was sent to NATO operations in Europe by US President Donald Trump repeated criticism transatlantic security alliance.
But Merz emphasized that the German-Franco alliance will not replace the nuclear umbrella of NATO, to which Germany remains committed.
“This fulfills our commitment to sharing nuclear weapons with NATO, which we continue to do,” Merz said.
US nuclear bombs have been stored in Germany as part of NATO’s nuclear arsenal and German warplanes have been confirmed to be able to carry the weapons in an emergency.
Previous German leaders rejected a nuclear deal with France, Merz said, but “the world we live in today needs new solutions”.
‘Vanguard role’
Macron said Germany would take a “vanguard” role in the ban, which is crucial to the security of the European Union.
The French leader said that cooperation would mean “defining some aspects of how we work, sharing what we do, doing exercises, making initiatives and collaborations and promoting … mutual trust between our teams, experts and soldiers”.
Defense of nuclear weapons will not include money from Germany, Macron added.
In a symbolic start to their cooperation, the French Rafale and German Eurofighters took part in an airborne exercise on Thursday. Rafale jets are designed to deliver nuclear weapons.
In March, Macron announced the expansion of France’s nuclear arsenal and called on European partners to strengthen cooperation in banning nuclear weapons.
France has become the only nuclear power in the 27-nation European Union since the United Kingdom left the bloc in 2020.
Several countries have expressed interest in France’s move, including the UK, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
The participation of Germany, which is implementing a major strike plan to rebuild Europe’s most powerful military by 2039, expands the program.
