France will consider extending the protection of its nuclear arsenal to its allies, French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday, while warning that Europe needs to be ready for the United States to not “remain by our side” in the Ukraine-Russia war.

In a televised address, President Emmanuel Macron warned that Europe needed to deal with a retreating America and a bellicose Russia.

To face that threat without the United States, Macron said he had decided to open a strategic debate on expanding France's nuclear deterrent to protect the country's European allies — something incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also advocated.