Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: Ludovic MARIN / AFP 4:05 p.m., March 25, 2024

The heads of the Republican list in the European elections have called for increased investment in the field of defense. They advocate the establishment of a "European preference", while deploring that current French spending "is not up to par".

The heads of LR's European list pleaded Monday for a strengthening of investments in the field of defense, advocating the establishment of a "European preference", while deploring that current French spending "is not up to par. height". “Our government's investment is not up to the challenge,” regretted the head of the LR list, François-Xavier Bellamy, at the end of a visit to a factory of the Arquus group in Nièvre. 

“It is necessary to move towards a European preference in terms of defense industry,” added General Christophe Gomart, number 3 on the LR list, who made his first campaign trip alongside François-Xavier Bellamy and of number 2 Céline Imart. “European countries must no longer buy from the United States, but must buy in Europe”, estimated the recent recruit of the right, after visiting a light armored production factory which employs around 400 people near Nevers .

Bellamy for a tripling of the European defense fund

The Republican candidate called on European countries to devote 3% of their budget to defense "as quickly as possible to have a real European pillar of defense within NATO, capable of acting on its own", deploring that France is only at 2%, the objective threshold set by NATO.

For his part, François-Xavier Bellamy called for a tripling of the European defense fund in order to bring it to 25 billion euros. “We want to ensure that this fund is conditional on European companies,” he said, specifying that EU member countries would maintain their sovereignty for “equipping their own armed forces” with their own funds.

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The head of the LR list, moreover, expressed his "surprise" that the arms factory he visited and others do not today have the "order book that they should". “It is the choice of the President of the Republic (Emmanuel Macron) to talk about rearmament on all subjects, including demographic or civic, but it is above all an industrial reality which presupposes (...) firm commitments of the State,” he criticized.

Asked about Ukraine and a possible commitment of French or European troops mentioned by Emmanuel Macron, the three LR candidates reiterated that this country "does not need words, but material, equipment and ammunition".