Nuclear programs are expensive and only useful in cases where things are so bad you are willing to end the entire world - including yourself. I'm not completely against France expanding their nuclear program, but I do think most of their effort should be focused on not letting things get that bad in the first place and that means enough conventional defense that they can defend themselves.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

The French want to expand the programme precisely because it is expensive: Under French doctrine you don't really need more nukes to defend the continent vs. the country, but the costs can be shared.

Also there's no way to get Germany to stop buying F35s without switching Germany's nuclear sharing over from the US to France: Eurofighters aren't certified for US nukes due to industrial espionage concerns. France wants to extend their doctrine of strategic autonomy to the whole of Europe, again, costs, which is why they regularly get pissy when other member states buy US equipment.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Sure! However the whole of Europe is currently under the nuclear umbrella of the US. If trump comes back, the US will have lost their ability to be relied upon. Meaning our own nuclear deterrence is the only option. The whole US presidential race is possibly already a signal that that horse has fled the barn, so it might happen regardless.

Price wise you don't need 5k ICBMs to function. A few dozen of the modern types suffices.