'Europeans cannot remain spectators' in any new arms race: Emmanuel Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron warned Friday that European nations "cannot remain spectators" faced with a potential nuclear arms race, urging them to push an "international arms control agenda".

"Europeans must realise collectively that in the absence of a legal framework, they could rapidly face a new race for conventional weapons, even nuclear weapons, on their own soil," Macron said in a speech laying out France's post-Brexit strategy for its nuclear arsenal.

He added that France had already reduced its number of warheads to under 300, giving France "the legitimacy to demand concrete moves from other nuclear powers toward global disarmament that is gradual, credible and can be verified".