The Australian founders of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) have warned that President Macron’s announcement of an expansion of France’s nuclear arsenal risks accelerating a new global arms race. The decision underscores a troubling shift towards growing global nuclear weapons stocks and the heightened risk of their use, placing strain on longstanding commitments to disarmament and non-proliferation. 

This reinforces the urgent need for renewed diplomatic efforts and collective action to strengthen the global non-proliferation regime and advance meaningful steps towards nuclear disarmament.

“We are at a turning point where we need to either get serious about ending these catastrophic arsenals before they end us, or face a new nuclear arms race,” said Dr Tilman Ruff, founding chair of the Nobel Peace Prize winning ICAN.

“Nuclear deterrence is just a theory. It assumes rational leadership and no accidental launches or hacking. President Macron stated a nuclear first strike could be used as a warning. That is not deterrence, instead it is proof of the unreliability of deterrence. Any use of nuclear weapons is likely to lead to rapid escalation,” continued Dr Ruff.

Deployment of nuclear weapons in other countries and ending transparency about nuclear forces, as President Macron has proposed, also increase the risk of escalation. The announcement violates France’s disarmament obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

“More weapons equals more risk of inadvertent use. We have already lived through many near misses due to human and technical error, and now increasingly sophisticated AI-enabled hackers are a concern,” said Dr Margaret Beavis, ICAN board member.  

“We have also seen the terrible impacts of France’s nuclear weapons program in Algeria and the Pacific, that has ruined lives and left ongoing contamination.”

“The Australian government talks loudly about nuclear disarmament. It needs to take urgent action and the best way it can do this is by joining the 99 other countries – a global majority including most of our Pacific neighbours – and sign the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,” Dr Beavis added.