The leaders of France and Germany on Friday committed to deeper defence cooperation – including on nuclear deterrence – as they sought to move past the collapse of a flagship joint jet fighter project. Speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at a press conference after a joint meeting of the two governments, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that this year would see German troops join a French military nuclear exercise. "This is complementary to our nuclear participation and deterrence within NATO, which we still hold to," he said. Macron said earlier this year that Germany was one of eight countries which had agreed to participate in a French-led nuclear deterrence project. However he has stressed that France – one of Western Europe's two nuclear powers alongside the United Kingdom – will retain tight control over nuclear decision-making. Read moreAs faith in the US wavers, can France’s nuclear umbrella deter Russia? The talks on the future of the countries' defence cooperation follow the collapse of a flagship joint jet fighter project earlier this year. For Macron, there is an urgent need to make progress in this area before next spring's presidential election, in which far-right leader Marine Le Pen is a frontrunner to be his successor. The prospect of a Le Pen presidency adds yet more uncertainty for European countries already scrambling to boost defence capabilities in the face of the Russian threat and waning US commitment under President Donald Trump.