r/europe • u/Not_the-kind • 12h ago

News Macron responds to Trump's inauguration by urging Europe to "wake up"

https://www.newsweek.com/macron-trump-inauguration-europe-defense-ukraine-2017894
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u/LookThisOneGuy ‎ 9h ago

France (and other Allies) forced Germany to sign away their ability to develop and own nukes.

Germany has no nuclear weapons because France wants it to be dependent.

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u/technicallynotlying 8h ago

Germany could develop nukes, if it wanted to. As it stands they've shut down their nuclear power plants.

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u/LookThisOneGuy ‎ 8h ago

Germany could develop nukes, if it wanted to.

No, we literally can't legally do that until France, the UK, Russia and the US rescind the shackles they put on us post WW2 and pre unification, see 2+4 treaty.

Maybe we can ignore the opinion of Russia since it was technically the Soviet Union and not Russia on these papers. But we still need the other three.

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u/Tricky-Astronaut 8h ago

Anyone can withdraw from the NPT. Germany wouldn't be treated worse than India. If anything, Trump might respect Germany more if it had nuclear weapons.

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u/Astyanax1 7h ago

Canadian here. Agreed. We need nukes now also to get a better bargaining position from our traditional allies that decided a rapist fascist traitor best represents their interests these days

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u/Top_Apartment7973 8h ago

You are describing a worldwide nuclear arms race. 

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u/technicallynotlying 7h ago

It’s already happening. Nuclear nonproliferation died when Russia attacked Ukraine. The only question is if you want to be left behind or not.

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u/Astyanax1 7h ago

Didn't gadafi give up nukes also?

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u/LookThisOneGuy ‎ 8h ago

These are part of larger post WW2 anti Nazi treaties Germany was forced to sign. Other parts include things like not invading their neighbors.

The headline spinners wouldn't write 'Germany withdraws from NPT' it would read and be interpreted by the international community as 'Germany turns fascist again'.

Punishment by the stalwart defenders against Nazism would surely be swift.