Ukraine: Emmanuel Macron calls for a "reassessment" of France's military spending

Europe 1 with AFP 3:44 p.m., June 13, 2022

France will reassess its military spending, entering a "war economy" in the light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday, renewing his call to build a European defense industry. "much stronger".

The opening of the Eurosatory exhibition, the largest international land defense and security exhibition in Villepinte, north-east of Paris, was an opportunity for the French president to "draw the consequences" of the geopolitical upheaval caused by the war in Ukraine.

"Entering a War Economy"

Among these consequences, that of "entering a war economy in which we will have to organize ourselves for a long time" and "in which we can no longer live with the grammar of a year ago", he said. valued.

While many European countries, worried about their security, have announced an increase in their defense budget, France will also review its needs highlighted by the conflict.

The French president therefore wants a "reassessment" of the military programming law (LPM) 2019-2025 to "adjust the means to the threats".

"I asked the Minister and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces to be able to carry out in the coming weeks a reassessment of this Military Programming Law in the light of the geopolitical context", he said.

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In 2017, Paris began a sharp rise in defense loans after years of scarcity.

The budget of the Ministry of the Armed Forces will increase again in 2022, to 40.9 billion euros, in accordance with the LPM 2019-2025 which plans to reach 50 billion euros in 2025. "We did not wait for the strategic changes to reinvest", recalled the Head of State on Monday, but the rise in threats, illustrated by the conflict which has been raging in Ukraine since February 24, poses an "additional requirement to go faster, stronger, at the lowest cost".

The president, however, did not specify whether he intended to increase the defense budget more than expected or whether it was a question of reviewing priorities.

"European preference"

The conflict in Ukraine has notably highlighted the weaknesses of France, which wants to have a "complete army model" but sample, particularly glaring with regard to ammunition stocks or ground-air defense.

In order to be able to prepare for a rise in power and mobilize more quickly an armaments industry whose production capacity is tailored to the limited needs of the last 30 years, the Directorate General for Armaments (DGA) plans to propose a legislative text which would allow to requisition, in certain circumstances, civilian materials or companies for military purposes, we learned from the ministry, confirming information from the daily

.

Since most defense companies are "dual", i.e. also producing for civilian needs, this text, inspired by American legislation, would allow them to mobilize their efforts towards military production, without France is formally in a state of war.

Strengthening defense capabilities also requires more European cooperation, which Emmanuel Macron has been calling for since he came to power in 2017.

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"Let's not start again to reproduce the mistakes of the past, spending a lot to buy elsewhere is not a good idea", he launched, while Germany, which has just equipped itself with a special budget of 100 billion euros for its army, decided to devote its first purchases to American F-35 fighters and Chinook heavy helicopters.

According to him, "the hour is with the installation of a European preference".

"We need to strengthen a much stronger and much more demanding European defense industry and industrial and technological base, otherwise we will build the dependencies of tomorrow," he insisted.

Many of the ongoing armament program cooperations in Europe are struggling to move forward, starting with the future aircraft (Scaf) and combat tank (MGCS) projects led by France and Germany.

Despite a cumulative budget much lower than that of the United States, European countries have many more models of tanks, frigates or various armaments, increasing their price.