Well, a French nuclear umbrella that can only be used at the direct orders of the French president is quite useless.
If Warsaw is nuked, I do not believe the French would nuke back. DeGaulle believed the same about the US (and I agree), therefore France has nuclear weapons.
Macron makes grand speeches, but could not even keep the French presence in Niger (African country, in case someone misreads).
I agree with your assessment. This is the biggest long-term issue with the less than full support of Ukraine, after they gave up the world's third largest nuke arsenal. Now, the USA signalling that they are not a reliable NATO partner, in general.
In my opinion, this will all lead to nuclear proliferation at levels not seen for decades. This has been my main argument to US folks who don't really care about Ukraine, since 2022. Their argument has been "you are playing with WWIII!" My argument has been that inaction on Ukraine will lead to increased chances of some nuclear exchange in the long-term.
With the winding down of globalism I don’t think anyone in France really believes Niger to be core to their interests. Violently moving EU and NATO borders would be very much attacking their very core interests so I don’t think it’s quite the same situation
France were sort of guests and Niger asked them to leave. You can't easily maintain that presence. He may not nuke Russia because Warsaw is occupied, but that's a different kettle of fish.
If Warsaw is nuked, I do not believe the French would nuke back. DeGaulle believed the same about the US (and I agree), therefore France has nuclear weapons.
Macron makes grand speeches, but could not even keep the French presence in Niger (African country, in case someone misreads).