Defense, deterrence and nuclear reactors: Emmanuel Macron in Poland on Monday to strengthen cooperation with Warsaw

President of the Republic to Meet with Prime Minister Donald Tusk

Emmanuel Macron will travel to Gdansk, in northern Poland, on Monday, April 20th, for a summit with Prime Minister Donald Tusk focused on strengthening defense cooperation, particularly in the field of nuclear deterrence, as announced by Elysée on Thursday.

This summit follows the Franco-Polish Treaty of Friendship and Enhanced Cooperation, signed on May 9, 2025 in Nancy, which includes a clause of defense and mutual assistance specific to France’s closest allies, noted in Paris. The meeting also comes a few days after the electoral defeat of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who opposed the positions of Paris and Warsaw on Ukraine, including blocking a 90 billion euro loan to Kiev.

Common Interests in a New Alliance?

On March 2, Emmanuel Macron proposed associating eight European countries, including Poland, with advanced French nuclear deterrence, where Paris would remain the ultimate decision maker, a move welcomed by Donald Tusk. Macron also expressed a desire for “the conventional participation of allied forces” in France’s nuclear activities, such as strike exercises in which the United Kingdom is already involved.

“One of the objectives of this summit will be to continue this discussion,”

stated an Elysée advisor, emphasizing that this conventional support could cover “three areas,”

“early warning, air defense, and strikes at a deep level.”

The two leaders will also discuss strengthening the European industrial and defense base, as Europe focuses more on its independence in the face of an increasingly unpredictable American ally. Collaboration on military communication satellites will be on the agenda, as well as discussions on energy cooperation, with the French group EDF being a candidate for building nuclear reactors at the second Polish power plant.

French President will be accompanied by the Minister of Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister of Energy Maud Bregeon, and Minister of Culture Catherine Pégeard. He will visit the military cemetery in Gdansk, where French soldiers who fell in Poland during the Napoleonic campaigns and World War II are buried, following the footsteps of General de Gaulle and President Francois Mitterrand. Later, he will meet with the Prime Minister for the signing of agreements, visit the monument of shipyard workers in Gdansk, the historic cradle of the Solidarity movement, and meet with former President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Walesa.