French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Thursday railed against the “Europeanisation” of France’s nuclear deterrent, arguing that no EU commissioner would ever have the democratic legitimacy to decide on nuclear strikes.

Oversight of a nuclear attack is “inextricably linked to the national [δημοκρατική] legalization,” Le Pen wrote in an opinion piece in Le Figaro newspaper, a clear nod to French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent hints that France could share its nuclear deterrent capability with other European nations.

In a much-anticipated speech on the future of the EU at the end of April, Macron called for the development of a “reliable European defence”.

“Nuclear deterrence is at the heart of France’s defense strategy. It is, therefore, an essential element for the defense of the European continent”, he had declared at the time.

Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN) party, which is now far ahead in the polls in the European elections with 32%, has repeatedly said it will oppose the creation of a “defence union”.

The RN is also opposed to scrapping the unanimity rule on EU foreign and security policy, despite recent calls to introduce qualified majority voting.

With France remaining the only member state equipped with nuclear weapons now that the UK has left the EU, bringing nuclear deterrence into EU-level decision-making would “further weaken the [γαλλική] our democracy, which has already been stripped of most of its privileges in favor of unelected supranational bodies,” Le Pen said.

Le Pen also rejected the idea of ​​creating a dedicated post for a European defense commissioner, as proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in February.

“A commissioner would have no democratic legitimacy to decide on possible nuclear attacks and manage an effective deterrence strategy,” the far-right leader added.

“Who will decide what measures will be taken? Should the response be conventional or nuclear?”, the far-right leader wrote.

Ultimately, any “Europeanization” of nuclear forces would lead to a lack of ability to make effective decisions and would not be able to maintain the level of ambiguity necessary for these weapons.

According to Le Pen, nuclear deterrence must remain exclusively French, as otherwise would amount to “betrayal” of the French constitution.

“It’s like it’s needed [ο Μακρόν]three years before the end of his term, to tear down the last remaining pillars of our national independence,” criticized Le Pen.

Those in Macron’s camp have already countered that the president is ready to abandon the national deterrent, pointing out instead that EU defense is a factor that should be integrated into France’s overall nuclear weapons strategy.