Preceding the July 17 session of the Franco-German Defense Council at Augustusburg Castle in Bruehl, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met at the German airbase in Noervenich to discuss a deepening of cooperation in nuclear deterrence. A March 2026 modification of the French force de frappe doctrine into a “forward based nuclear deterrence” allows for the stationing of French nuclear capacities in other EU countries. The Noervenich meeting is expected to include discussion of the participation of German military personnel in France’s planned autumn nuclear defense exercise.
Similar discussions have taken place between France and Poland, involving plans for joint air exercises in Polish air space.
