Issued on: 01/20/2023 – 12:14 Amended: 01/20/2023 – 13:27
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday unveiled his vision for modernizing the military in his nuclear-armed country, saying 413 billion euros ($446 billion) would be allocated to the army over the period 2024-2030 – up from 295 billion euros in the previous household.
Macron said the big spending push was meant to ensure “our freedom, our security, our prosperity, our place in the world” while considering the impact of the war in Ukraine.
The 2019-2025 defense law should start rebuilding capacity after chronic underinvestment over the past few decades, the French leader said.
He branded the new 2024-2030 budget a “transformation program” to adapt the military to the possibility of high-intensity conflicts, made all the more urgent since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“France has and will have armies ready for the challenges of the century,” he said in his New Year’s address to the army at Mont-de-Marsan airbase in south-west France.
🔴🇫🇷 “The nation must transform its armed forces […] to be ready for more brutal and more numerous wars,” says Macron.
Macron says he wants to allocate more than 400 billion euros for this #France‘s armed forces over the period 2024-2030, which is a 30% increase ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/aaafhm7QlJ
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) January 20, 2023
Macron said France must be ready for a new era with more threats. He pointed to threats from hybrid warfare, increasing cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, and ongoing threats from terrorism.
He also called for a modernization of France’s nuclear arsenal and said the country’s military strategy should strengthen its role as an independent world power.
Friday’s speech came as US defense officials and allies met in Ramstein, Germany, to discuss further aid to Ukraine.
France has joined its Western partners in supplying arms to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion and recently pledged highly mobile AMX-10 RC light tanks to Kyiv.
(FRANCE 24 with Portal, AP)