French President Macron proposes $450b to boost defence spending
Emmanuel Macron (left) arrives to review the troops before his New Year address to the French army, at the Mont-de-Marsan air base, France, on Friday. Reuters
Macron announced a proposal for 413 billion euros (nearly $450 billion) in military spending for the period of 2024-2030, to ensure “our freedom, our security, our prosperity, our place in the world.”
That compares with spending of about 295 billion euros in a similar military plan for 2019-2025. The money would notably go to modernising France’s nuclear arsenal, boosting intelligence spending by 60 per cent, doubling the number of military reservists, reinforcing cyberdefense and developing more remote-controlled weapons.
“Nuclear deterrence is an element that makes France different from other countries in Europe. We see anew, in analysing the war in Ukraine, its vital importance,” he said in a speech to military personnel at an air base in Mont-de-Marsan in southwest France.
“What we are experiencing on European soil for the past year in Ukraine teaches us lessons,” Macron said. “The threats are multiple, and mix together,” he said.
“There is no longer a peace dividend, because of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The international order has ceded to a state of play between nations like we have not seen in decades.”
Macron noted threats from hybrid warfare, cyberattacks and continued threats from terrorism, and called for boosting the production capacity of the arms industry to be able to help Ukraine and supply the French military. Among lessons of the Ukraine war, Macron’s office said the French military needs to be more reactive and ready for quick deployments, and have equipment that performs well, logistical support and ammunition.
Macron wants France’s military strategy to strengthen the country’s role as an independent global power. He called for reinforcing military partnerships with European neighbours as well as countries like Egypt, India, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and in Africa.
The new budget plan would need parliamentary approval. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Bloomberg TV on Friday that recent strikes in protest at plans to raise the French retirement age are unlikely to hurt the country’s economy.
“I don’t think the strikes will have a really important economic impact on the French economy,” said Le Maire at the World Economic Forum in Davos, adding that the French economy was “doing well.”
Agencies
