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Norway accepts France nuclear umbrella

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28.05.2026 Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the signing of a defence agreement during the meeting in Paris, May 27.

“Following my visit to Oslo in June and the signing of our strategic partnership, Norway and France are deepening their cooperation even further. In the field of defense and security, by notably embedding it within the framework of advanced deterrence through a new defense arrangement. Also by advancing on energy, space, and industry.
“In the face of threats to our continent and beyond, Europeans need to be stronger and more sovereign. Our strengthened partnership serves to demonstrate this” Macron writes on his X page.

The frame defence agreement includes Norway joining a French-led nuclear weapons initiative. The situation angered the lawmakers of the French National Assembly (parliament), who requested the explanation why such a serious shift in the national defence policy was made without a proper democratic debate.

In the past, on August 30, 1954, the French National Assembly effectively cancelled the European Defence Community (EDC) by voting to postpone its ratification indefinitely. Although France originally proposed the plan to integrate European militaries, parliament ultimately rejected the idea due to concerns over national sovereignty and West German rearmament.

Norway has signed a wide-ranging defence agreement with France that advances President Emmanuel Macron’s nuclear deterrence plan, becoming the first country to formally sign up to the scheme.

The pact was sealed on May 27 during a visit to Paris by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who held talks with Macron at the Élysée Palace. Beyond the nuclear dimension, it covers closer cooperation on maritime security, hybrid warfare, cyber security and space, and commits the two countries to mutual defence if needed, according to Spanish news agency Europa Press.

Under the nuclear arrangement, Norway would take part in what France calls “forward deterrence”, under which European partners are more closely involved in French strategic thinking on nuclear defence. Macron said the deal established “a principle of mutual assistance” between the two countries and described it as a major milestone that would underpin Europe’s defence ambitions.

At a joint news conference Macron said that Norway would add significant value to the enhanced deterrent, underlying that it would let the two act quickly through concrete plans, exercises and pre-arranged structures, Europa Press reported.

Norway is a member of NATO but not of the European Union, and shares a border with Russia in the Arctic. It has long been a firm Atlanticist, relying heavily on the alliance and on the US nuclear umbrella.

Støre underlined that the move would not change his country’s basic nuclear policy. Norway would not allow nuclear weapons to be stationed on its territory in peacetime and would not contribute financially to France’s nuclear programme, he said.

Macron launched the deterrence doctrine in March at France’s ballistic-missile submarine base at Île Longue, near Brest in Western France. As the EU’s only nuclear-armed state, France offered the protection of its arsenal to about eight European allies — among them Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark — with Norway now the first to commit formally, Europa Press reported.

The agreement comes amid doubts about long-term US commitments and increasing tensions with Russia over its war in Ukraine. French nuclear weapons had previously been tied to France’s own security alone, with Paris now open to a wider European role.

Norway, a nation of about 5.6 million people, has signed similar defence agreements with Germany and the United Kingdom over the past six months.

The dispute between Norway and Russia over a 150,000 square kilometer territory lasted 40 years and was resolved in 2010 under President Dmitry Medvedev. Moscow and Oslo had different legal approaches to resolving the dispute: Norway insisted on the median line principle, which is followed by most countries worldwide, while Russia proposed the sectoral principle used in the Arctic. As a result, a compromise was reached.

The section of the Barents Sea shelf that Russia ceded to Norway in 2010 under the agreement on maritime delimitation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean turned out to be a rich oil and gas province. According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), two years of seismic surveys have revealed the presence of at least 1.9 billion barrels of recoverable hydrocarbon reserves (15% oil) in the area, raising Norway’s estimated offshore reserves by 11% to 18.7 billion barrels, Reuters reports.

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