In a much anticipated speech, French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday warned that countries within Europe "cannot remain spectators" in any new arms race.

"Europeans must realize collectively that in the absence of a legal framework, they could rapidly face a new race for conventional weapons, even nuclear weapons, on their own soil," Macron said in his speech. He went on to call for a "strategic dialogue" with European partners regarding the role of France as a nuclear power.

The speech comes as many long-standing global nuclear agreements are deteriorating: The US and Russia have both abandoned the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the US has suggested it may not extend an arms reduction treaty signed in 2010.

Read more: What is the INF nuclear treaty?

With the UK's official departure from the EU, France is now the only nuclear power in the bloc. Macron said that Brexit "hasn't changed anything" in terms of cooperation between Paris and London.

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France reduces nuclear arsenal

Nuclear deterrence is a keystone of France's defense strategy. The speech on French nuclear deterrence before military officers is a tradition for every French president under the Fifth Republic.

"France is convinced that long-term security in Europe is possible through a strong alliance with the United States," Macron said. "But our security is also achieved, inevitably, through a larger capacity for autonomous action in Europe."

French nuclear capabilities "reinforce the security of Europe just by existing and, in that respect, have a dimension authentically European," the president said.

At the same time, France has reduced its nuclear warhead arsenal to "under 300," he said, giving France "the legitimacy to demand concrete moves from other nuclear powers toward global disarmament that is gradual, credible and can be verified."

Macron also reaffirmed the importance of France retaining sovereignty over its defense capabilities. A German politician had previously suggested that NATO or the EU should take control of France's nuclear deterrent.

Technologies that revolutionized warfare AI: 'Third revolution in warfare' Over 100 AI experts have written to the UN asking them to ban lethal autonomous weapons — those that use AI to act independently without any human input. No "killer robots" currently exist, but advances in artificial intelligence have made them a real possibility. The experts said these weapons could be "the third revolution in warfare," after gunpowder and nuclear arms.

Technologies that revolutionized warfare Gunpowder The "first revolution in warfare" was invented by the Chinese, who started using the black substance between the 10th and 12th centuries to propel projectiles in simple guns. It gradually spread to the Middle East and Europe in the following two centuries. Once perfected, firearms using gunpowder proved to be far more lethal than the traditional bow and arrow.

Technologies that revolutionized warfare Artillery The invention of gunpowder also introduced artillery pieces to the battlefield. Armies started using basic cannons in the 16th century to fire heavy metal balls at opposing infantrymen and breach defensive walls around cities and fortresses. Far more destructive field guns were invented in the 19th century and went on to wreak havoc in the battlefields of World War I.

Technologies that revolutionized warfare Machine guns Guns that fire multiple rounds in rapid succession were invented in the late 19th century and immediately transformed the battlefield. Machine guns, as they came to be known, allowed soldiers to mow down the enemy from a protected position. The weapon's grisly effectiveness became all too clear in WWI as both sides used machine guns to wipe out soldiers charging across no man's land.

Technologies that revolutionized warfare Warplanes Military thinkers did not ignore the invention of the first airplane in 1903. Six years later, the US military bought the first unarmed military aircraft, the 1909 Wright Military Flyer. Inventors experimented with more advanced fighter and bomber aircraft in the following years. Both became standard features in many of the national air forces established by the end of WWI.

Technologies that revolutionized warfare Mechanization Armies had traditionally used soldiers and horses to fight and transport military equipment. But around WWI, they started using more machines such as tanks and armored vehicles. Faster and more destructive armies were the result. Nazi Germany put this new form of "mechanized warfare" to destructive effect in WWII using an attack strategy known as "Blitzkrieg" ("lightning war").

Technologies that revolutionized warfare Missiles Although artillery was effective, it had a relatively limited range. The missile's invention in WWII suddenly allowed an army to strike a target hundreds of kilometers away. The first missile — the German V-2 — was relatively primitive, but it laid the foundation for the development of guided cruise missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Technologies that revolutionized warfare Jet engine Jet aircraft first saw action alongside traditional propeller airplanes at the end of WWII. Jet engines dramatically increased an aircraft's speed, allowing it to reach a target quicker and making it far harder for an adversary to shoot it down. After WWII, military reconnaissance planes were developed that could fly higher than 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) and faster than the speed of sound.

Technologies that revolutionized warfare Nuclear weapons The "second revolution in warfare" announced its horrific arrival on August 6, 1945 when the US dropped the first nuclear bomb — "Little Boy" — on the city of Hiroshima in Japan, killing between 60,000 and 80,000 people instantly. In the Cold War that followed, the US and Soviet Union developed thousands of even more destructive warheads and raised the specter of a devastating nuclear war.

Technologies that revolutionized warfare Digitization Recent decades have witnessed the ever more prevalent use of computers to conduct war. The devices made military communication quicker and easier and radically improved the precision and efficiency of many weapons. Armed forces have recently focused on developing cyber warfare capabilities to defend national infrastructure and attack foreign adversaries in cyberspace. Author: Alexander Pearson



kp/stb (AFP, Reuters)

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