Norway Crawls Under a French Nuke's Umbrella
As the text below shows, Norway, the first country to agree to participate in France’s nuclear deterrence program, which entails deploying French tactical nuclear weapons in ten partner countries, including Denmark and Sweden, has just signed a defense agreement in Paris.
Judging by the quote from Prime Minister Støre’s speech, he still doesn’t understand what kind of document he signed—this man with a naval education told the media that France does not possess tactical nuclear weapons, but only strategic nuclear forces, whose four submarines carry a total of at least 240 nuclear warheads.
Why Prime Minister Støre blurted out such a nonsense is unclear, as France possesses at least 40 nuclear air-launched aeroballistic missiles with ranges of 500 and 600 km, which undoubtedly classifies this type of weapon as tactical nuclear.
If this isn’t a casual slip of the tongue or a senile error in the brain of an elderly person, but a deliberate lie, then in the internet age it seems foolish, and even a fisherman with only an elementary school education and an IQ of less than 70 from a remote Norwegian village somewhere on the island of Magerøya wouldn’t believe it.
Anyone interested in the subject knows that France has a nuclear dyad, naval and airborne carriers of nuclear weapons.
The deployment of French nuclear submarines in Norwegian fjords for a preemptive or retaliatory strike against targets in Russia requires the rich and not entirely sane imagination of someone capable of imagining such a thing.
In practice, however, as the text below suggests, this agreement may only refer to the deployment of French Rafale tactical nuclear weapons fighters, either deployed in Norway in the event of a military or pre-war situation, or, theoretically, on France’s only aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, which recently visited the Baltic Sea.
In reality, the military agreement, judging by the context, most likely envisions the preemptive deployment of French nuclear-capable aircraft on Norwegian territory during the so-called threat period, i.e., before a nuclear exchange begins and, possibly, shortly after the outbreak of a conventional military conflict in 2030, for which European NATO countries are preparing by straining their dwindling economic resources.
The bottom line from the defense agreement between Norway, a country with a population of 5.6 million, and middle-power France is that the direct path to nuclear escalation in Europe was first opened by one of Europe’s most “peaceful” countries, a former cod-producing superpower and now a mid-level oil and gas producer.
Støre’s statements are particularly phantasmagoric and masochistic, simultaneously revealing disguised hatred for Trump, while also expressing faith in the power of the American nuclear umbrella. This clearly requires the help of a psychiatrist with a keen understanding of the differences between types of pathological schizophrenia.
The Prime Minister is clearly having a hard time coming to terms with the simple fact that Trump will leave office on January 20, 2029, 968 days from now. That’s a very long time! Many interesting things could happen during that time, things that could, for example, render this defense agreement obsolete and irrelevant to new realities.
For example, the politically paralytic Macron will be replaced in less than a year, in April–May 2027 by new political forces that clearly express their unwillingness to share their modest nuclear forces with Europe. The collapse of the European Union and NATO is also possible, as is a new paradigm for Russia-Europe relations after rational and pragmatic political forces and a new generation of politicians come to power in the latter.
For Russia, which shares a 219-kilometer border with Norway and has close, vulnerable, strategically significant facilities on the Kola Peninsula, the Norwegian-French agreement signed this week represents an additional threat and the need to eliminate it under certain conditions.
Will a small nation of codfishers and oilmen survive a major global turmoil? Perhaps Norwegians should ask themselves: why should we, a small peaceful nation, get involved in a fight between the big guys, if one breaks out?
After all, it is clear that such a war will be waged from the very beginning as a nuclear conflict, in which large nations living in vast territories will be able to survive, while small nations crowded into tight confines are doomed to total destruction.
Is this what Prime Minister Støre wants for his people?
Brand New Defense Agreement
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre flew to Paris on Wednesday to meet with President Emmanuel Macron, and to sign a brand new defense agreement with France.
The agreement also stipulates that Norway will enter a process of joining the French nuclear weapons initiative.
“We are doing this based on the security policy picture that exists in Europe,” says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to NTB.
Norway Is a Valuable Partner
The agreement was signed at the Elysée Palace on Wednesday evening, with Macron, Støre and the two defense ministers present.
Macron and Støre then held a short press conference where they each made their own statements.
“I would like to express how much France values the bonds of friendship and trust that have united our two states for 120 years, and our nations and peoples for even longer,” said Macron.
“Norway is today a valuable and indispensable partner for the collective security of Europeans and the French.”
Støre describes the agreement as historic, and that he believes Europe must take greater security responsibility within the framework of NATO.
“This is not something we are establishing outside of NATO. We are doing it as NATO members. This has been an issue for many decades, that Europe must take greater responsibility. Now it is coming to the fore with Trump because he is speaking out the way he is,” Støre told NTB earlier on Wednesday.
Not Replacing the USA
Macron announced in March that France will increase its stockpile of nuclear warheads, and that the country will contribute further to deterrence in Europe through nuclear weapons.
He also invited several other European countries to the cooperation.
“At a time when Europe must take more responsibility, be more relevant, this also applies in this area. But it does not replace the USA. We are very concerned about that,” Støre told NTB on board the plane to Paris.
Nine other countries have joined the initiative, including Sweden and Denmark.
“What we are opening up for in this agreement is a dialogue on how to interpret the threat picture, share intelligence, and how conventional matters should be safeguarded to prevent us from getting into a situation with nuclear weapons,” says Støre.
No Nuclear Weapons in Norway
Macron has also talked about deploying nuclear weapons in other countries. The Prime Minister is clear that this is not relevant for Norway.
“We do not have nuclear weapons in Norway in peacetime. That is fundamental.”
“What would you say to those who fear that this contributes to increasing the risk of nuclear war?”
“The whole point of this is to safeguard a deterrent against war. In NATO, we have had a deterrent strategy based on nuclear weapons since 1949, which some ignore from time to time.”
Støre points out that the number of nuclear weapons in Europe has fallen sharply from a peak in the 1980s. And that France has relatively few nuclear weapons.
“France has strategic nuclear weapons, which are the last form of deterrence. They do not have tactical nuclear weapons. The challenge in Europe today is that Russia is getting more and more and more varied tactical nuclear weapons,” says Støre.
US Strategy Remains
“Do you still think that the US is willing to use nuclear weapons to protect other NATO countries?”
“The US confirms that the strategy we have in NATO is based on a deterrence strategy, which is also nuclear. That is correct.”
He points out that the French nuclear weapons program has been quite closed from the outside.
“The fact that France is now opening up is positive.”
“How do you think Russia will react to this agreement?”
“Norway has a responsibility to take care of its own security. France has been one of our closest allies since 1949. We have a combination of deterrence and reassurance. Russia is well aware of that.”
Støre started his visit to Paris by meeting with French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. Later he met with President Macron.
Several React
Several parties and organizations are reacting strongly to the cooperation agreement. The Green Party believes it is the wrong way to go, while the Socialist Left Party calls it a historic mistake.
“Norway should work for disarmament, not crawl under a French nuclear weapons umbrella. The government is making Norway more dependent on nuclear weapons at a time when the world needs fewer nuclear weapons, not more,” says SLP leader Kirsti Bergstø.
The Red Cross calls the agreement appalling and incomprehensible.
“Do we really understand what this means?” asks Secretary General Grete Herlofson.
“These are not defensive weapons. They represent an existential threat that we cannot control,” says Herlofson.
The Conservative Party, for its part, is positive:
“It means that we in Europe are doing more for our own security when more European countries participate in the French initiative. This initiative is in addition to the US nuclear umbrella, and it does not change Norwegian nuclear policy,” says Conservative Party leader Ine Eriksen Søreide.
“Cooperation is always better than going it alone—and this agreement is an important step toward closer cooperation. At the same time, we also need a faster and stronger rearmament of the Norwegian defense.”
Source: Forsvarets Forum (in Norwegian)
