France increases military budget
Due to the deterioration of the military-political situation in Europe, the French leadership plans to increase defense spending. It is proposed to gradually increase the military budget and increase it by about a third. The first steps in this direction are already being taken, and the final goals will be achieved by the beginning of the next decade. It is assumed that the increased budget will allow not only to maintain the current state of the army, but also to carry out more active rearmament.
Growth challenge
According to the current plans of the French government, in 2019-25. the country's total defense spending should amount to 295 billion euros. Of these, 51,5 billion euros fell on last year's military budget, and this year the Ministry of Defense received more than 55 billion.
Last year, in connection with the events in Ukraine, proposals were again heard in Paris to increase defense spending and strengthen the army. Until a certain time, this topic was only discussed, but a few months ago, concrete proposals and plans appeared. Moreover, these ideas were supported by the top leadership of the country.
So, in mid-January, President Emmanuel Macron spoke about the work on the “military programming law” for 2024-30. One of the key provisions of this project is to increase spending on defense issues. During this period, the total expenditure of this kind should exceed 410 billion euros, which is a third more than the budgets of the current planning period (2019-25). At the same time, defense spending will reach the level of 2% of GDP.
Over the next few months, the presidential administration and the military department developed concrete plans. In addition, there was a discussion of the future bill at different levels. New proposals were put forward, as well as criticism. As a result of these processes, by now the final version of the document has been prepared and submitted to the Parliament.
The other day it was reported that the bill without significant modifications was approved by the lower house of the legislative assembly. The majority of parliamentarians voted for him. The opposition, contrary to expectations and some forecasts, did not resist. Now the budget will go through the remaining instances, which will take several weeks. The president can approve it already in July.
Expenditure
Back in January, President Macron named the main goals and objectives for which it is planned to increase the defense budget. In general, we are talking about the modernization, reform and transformation of the armed forces. It is necessary to strengthen and renew the army and bring it into line with current and future requirements, challenges and threats.
According to the President, the French armed forces should be able to independently conduct operations and actions as part of a NATO contingent. It is necessary to ensure the possibility of rapid deployment abroad of groupings of troops numbering up to 20 people. In addition, it is required to pay attention to the structures and means that provide direct combat work. In particular, funding for exploration will increase by 60%.
Attention should be paid to the development of materiel and technology - to close existing gaps and create a reserve for the future. Thus, it is proposed to develop the UAV sphere, incl. combat, improve air defense, develop fundamentally new computer systems, etc.
General plans and proposals were worked out and turned into a full-fledged bill. Recently, the main details of it have become known. In particular, the distribution of increased funding between different areas and industries is of great interest.
Most of the allocated money, approx. 270 billion euros will go to the development and purchase of new weapons and equipment, as well as to the maintenance, repair and modernization of available materiel. Another 16 billion euros will be spent on the purchase of ammunition of all types for all branches of the armed forces. Modernization of strategic nuclear forces is envisaged; for these purposes, a total of several tens of billions will be spent.
Quantitative and qualitative improvement of personnel training processes is planned. An additional 20 billion euros will be allocated for these purposes. Due to this, training grounds will be modernized, training materiel will be acquired, and maneuvers will be carried out more often. In addition, the number of reserves ready to return to service will double.
The bill on the budget also takes into account modern characteristic threats. Thus, the costs of maintaining and operating the National Information Systems Security Agency will be significantly increased. He will have to carry out defensive and, apparently, offensive operations in cyberspace.
With a backlog for a more distant future, several other projects are planned. Thus, the deadlines for the creation and launch of a new reconnaissance satellite are shifting to the left - now they want to put it into operation no later than 2030. By the same date, they plan to resolve the issue of building the next aircraft carrier. If this idea receives support, then work will begin within the next budget period, in the thirties.
Prospects for reform
Thus, the armed forces of France are waiting not only for an increase in the budget, but also for a full-fledged reform. It is proposed to improve the organizational and staffing structure of different types of troops, update their materiel, work on the skills of personnel, etc. As a result, the army must increase its overall potential, as well as acquire capabilities that correspond to current threats and challenges.
Most of the future multi-year budget will go to the purchase of new weapons and equipment. This money will allow the French Ministry of Defense to complete a number of current procurement programs for modern samples, and then place new orders. For example, at present, new Griffin and Jaguar armored vehicles are being purchased for the ground forces, designed to replace existing types of light equipment. In 2024-30 the construction and supply of such machines will continue, and they will be paid from the increased military budget.
We should also recall the ambitious plans of the French Navy, the implementation of which also requires a lot of money. Thus, serial construction of Barracuda-type multi-purpose nuclear submarines is already underway; there are now four ships of this type on the stocks. All of them will be completed and commissioned fleet during the new budget period. Also during this period, a project for a new strategic submarine SNLE 3G will be developed. At the same time, the program for the construction of these nuclear submarines will probably already be included in the budget for the first half of the thirties.
However, the planned rearmament and the creation of new projects - like other processes in the modernization of the army - may encounter difficulties. So, about 30 billion euros are included in the new budget only to compensate for inflation. In addition, the planned expenditures do not meet the needs of the army in terms of purchasing or upgrading equipment.
Foreign Policy has calculated that even an increased budget by 2030 will lead to a reduction in the share of modern technology and a corresponding drop in defense capability. Yes, from ok. 200 available tanks by the end of the decade, only 160 will undergo the last modernization and will meet current requirements. The number of upgraded Rafale fighters will be reduced from 220 to 178. In addition, the army will not be able to deploy abroad a group of the required 20 thousand people - only 15 thousand.
Attention should also be paid to the financial part of the plans of the French government. At present, the economy of France and the EU as a whole is going through far from the best of times, and there are no prerequisites for positive changes. This means that in the medium term, the French leadership will have to face the problem of finding money to finance defense at the planned level.
Due to the unfavorable situation in the economy, Paris may revise plans and the military budget, reducing certain parts of it and the corresponding programs. At the same time, the necessary money can be found and allocated, but at the expense of other areas and industries. In which direction they will decide to save for the sake of an ambitious modernization of the armed forces, the big question is.
Big plans
Thus, the French leadership has studied the current state of its armed forces, considered it not entirely acceptable, and now plans to reform and modernize them. To solve such problems, first of all, they drew up a new draft military budget for the next few years, and this document has already passed through part of the instances.
In all likelihood, in the coming weeks, the budget will receive the necessary approval, and it will be signed by the president. The implementation of the new plans will begin next year and stretch until the end of the decade. How successful this process will be, only time will tell. However, it is already clear that he is not immune from predictable and unexpected difficulties, etc., which, at the very least, will complicate the reform of the army.
Information