Last month the likely next German chancellor Friedrich Merz surprised the countrys partners by saying it might be the moment for discussion with Paris & London on the subject of how a French or Franco-British European nuclear deterrent might operate is still far from clear.
As President of France in the 1960s, Charles de Gaulle launched the policy of French strategic independence.
He also said that Americans were more our friends than Russians were & that the US too also had interests & one day their interests would clash with ours.
Of course one option might be to position French nuclear-armed planes in other countries, such as Germany or Poland. The decision to press the trigger would still rest entirely with the French President, but their presence would send a strong signal.
Alternatively, French bombers could patrol European borders, in the same way they regularly do French borders today. Or airfields could be developed in other countries to which French bombers could quickly deploy in an emergency.
But the credibility of US nuclear dissuasion is not what it was. That has opened the debate, and led the Germans to look more favourably on the idea of coming under a French & British umbrella now.
Numbers are an issue. Are 300 French warheads enough against Russia's thousands? Maybe not, but in an alliance with the UK 300 become 550. Also remember that the American nuclear deterrent is still in 'theory in place' as there are currently US nuclear bombs in Germany, Italy & the Netherlands, for now.
Today, reading that Friedrich Merz, who is expected to become Germanys next Chancellor, has announced a political deal to raise hundreds of billions of euros in extra spending on defence & infrastructure - stating
'In view of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent, the rule for our defence now has to be 'whatever it takes', he said.
Just glad, I have got 3 foot stone walls & a stone floor with access to a carpeted cellar now.