The French newspaper, Le Monde, said that the French military explained in the National Assembly France's borders in the face of a potential "extremely intense" conflict, after the controversy that arose after the invasion of the French barracks since the Russian forces entered Ukraine over the ability of the French army to withstand a "high" conflict. density".

And the newspaper explained - in a report by Cedric Pettralonga - that the various chiefs of staff of the French army - traditionally reluctant to discuss the weaknesses of their army - revealed their ideas during hearings held behind closed doors before the new Defense Committee of the National Assembly, and demanded deputies to prepare for more expenses, French President Emmanuel Macron promised to "re-evaluate" the military programming law.

The Chief of Staff of the forces, General Thierry Borcard, was direct in describing the state of his forces - according to the newspaper - when he said, "Our ability to be an exploratory force does not immediately make us able to launch a very intense war."

"Changing the scale and restoring the capabilities we have outlived present challenges," he added.

Despite the increase that began in 2017, the French defense budget is now seeking to reach 2% of GDP, after it was more than 3% in the 1980s, the newspaper says.

Reflecting with emotion, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Pierre Vandier, said during the hearing that "the Navy has never been smaller since 1945 than it is today."

French soldiers killed in battles outside France (Anatolia)

Few and dilapidated equipment

The commanders' discussions showed that the officers were most concerned about equipment, and while they acknowledged the advances the Scorpion program had brought about with regard to armored vehicles and nuclear submarines, they regretted the lack and at times obsolete equipment, according to Army Chief of Staff General Pierre Schell.

"Among the capabilities that need to be strengthened are surface-to-air defence, drones, long-range artillery, information, communications, and intelligence systems, or barges and pontoons," Schell added.

"What we're seeing in Ukraine makes me think we have to get over that," he said.

While the chief of staff of the forces, General Borkar, said, "We must be able to confront the opponent and inflict significant damage on him from the first moment, and this requires long-range artillery."

For his part, the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Vandier, lamented that the navy had been reduced by half since 1990, and said that today it has only 19 large surface ships, compared to 37 30 years ago, noting the need to quickly replace the aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle", so as not to find France itself without an aircraft carrier in 2037.

The newspaper pointed out that concern in the Air Force also exists because the ammunition stock is “insufficient,” in addition to the annual closure of an air base since 1996, which the Chief of Staff of the Air and Space Force, General Stephen Mill, considered “exaggerated,” and called for “rebalancing.” According to the model,” noting that his forces now have only 195 combat aircraft, which is 3 times less than it was 30 years ago.

Worried about ammo

The priority for all militaries is an effort on ammunition, Borcard said, explaining that the stockpile must adapt to a more demanding and volatile international context, while General Pariso noted that officers are more urgent as they consider the volatile geopolitical situation.

"We must now look clearly at the possibility of a global confrontation," Vandeer said, especially as the threats multiply.

In the Armed Forces Ministry, officials said they were not surprised by the demands of the various army divisions, the President of the Republic pledged to re-evaluate the current system in light of the situation in Ukraine, and the government committed to respecting budget deadlines that will raise the defense budget by 3 billion euros to reach 44 billion in 2023.