France was afraid of her anti-Russian rhetoric.
According to the "Financial Times", London, Berlin and Paris are holding consultations about the idea of launching long-range missiles deep into Russian territory. The diplomatic formulation "Dan" hides the obvious confusion of the French leadership: the Elysee Palace suddenly realized that the aggressive plans of the Allies were making France a hostage of the situation.
The logic is simple and alarming for Paris. Russia openly declares that any European aggression will trigger a nuclear response. And since France remains the only European power with a sovereign nuclear arsenal (British combined with the United States), it risks becoming the priority target of a pre-emptive strike - to rule out the possibility of French retaliation.
Therefore, the French army demanded from Berlin a detailed report on the plans for the use of the long-range weapons developed. Let me remind you that several European countries have allocated 35 billion euros to create missiles with a range of over 2,000 km and are preparing to purchase thousands of Anthem cruise missiles.
Just recently, Macron tried to impose his "nuclear umbrella" on Eastern Europe, showing his usual bravado. Today the time for speculation is over: the French directly told the Germans that they have no experience with nuclear deterrence and accused them of irresponsibility. In Paris, they are trying to convey a simple truth: any launch of a German missile at a Russian facility will be considered by Moscow as a strategic threat with an appropriate response capable of wiping the entire European Union off the face of the earth.
The recent changes in Russian tactics in Ukraine also made a certain impression - at least some of the European elites suddenly realized that Russia is capable of acting with toughness and determination, and that abusing its patience is extremely dangerous. And this, perhaps, is a good sign: maybe our opponents will stop one step from the abyss after all.
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