France and Poland expand defence talks in Gdańsk

French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk used a meeting in Gdańsk on Monday to sketch a deeper defence relationship that could extend as far as France’s nuclear deterrent. According to Euronews, the two leaders said cooperation could cover early-warning and air-defence roles for Poland, alongside joint exercises, intelligence sharing, military satellites and industrial projects.

One concrete deliverable was announced on the sidelines: Airbus and Thales, together with Poland’s Radmor group, signed an agreement to develop military communications satellites in geostationary orbit for the Polish armed forces. The deal sits neatly inside Macron’s long-running push for a “European preference” in defence procurement—an argument that Europe cannot claim strategic autonomy while buying the critical parts of its arsenal abroad.

Poland is a difficult test case for that idea because it has been the EU’s most aggressive rearmament story while remaining heavily tied to US hardware. Euronews cites a European diplomat describing Warsaw’s “colossal orders” for F-35s, Apache helicopters, Patriot missiles and Abrams tanks. Poland’s defence spending is expected to exceed 4.8% of GDP in 2026, placing it among NATO’s highest spenders and making it a prize customer for any supplier able to deliver at scale.

The politics behind the photo-op are not subtle. Both leaders referenced a shifting US posture under President Donald Trump, who has publicly disparaged NATO and complained that allies did not join the US-Israeli war with Iran. For Poland, the message is that Washington may still be indispensable, but it is no longer predictable. For France, it is an opening to offer European alternatives—especially in areas where the US has leverage through munitions stocks, export controls and intelligence.

Warsaw is also trying to use EU financing without surrendering control. Poland participates in the EU’s SAFE programme, which offers loans for joint procurement and for expanding defence manufacturing. But Euronews notes domestic friction: nationalist President Karol Nawrocki has attacked SAFE as a threat to Poland’s “independence,” an argument that resonates in a country that treats sovereignty as a security asset rather than a slogan.

Macron said work over the coming months should lead to “concrete progress,” including possible deployments of French nuclear-capable aircraft to Poland, while France retains sole authority over any use of force.

In Gdańsk, the satellite contract was signed in front of both countries’ defence ministers.