Putin addresses Macron nuclear proposal: Remember "how it ended" when Napoleon took on Russia

French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday he’ll confer with allies on the possibility of using France’s nuclear deterrent to protect the continent from Russian threats, amid concerns over potential U.S. disengagement.

France is the only nuclear power in the European Union (EU).

In a televized address ahead of a special European summit on Thursday, Macron described Russia as a “threat to France and Europe”, and said he had decided “to open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent by our (nuclear) deterrent.”

In response to Macron’s comments Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called back to the disastrous end to French General Napoleon Bonaparte’s 1812 campaign in Russia that resulted in a staggering loss of life.

“There are still people who want to go back to the times of Napoleon, forgetting how it ended,” he said.