Quality, not quantity

26
With savings in government spending, France hopes to preserve the operational capabilities of the army and the place of the second military power in Europe. This is precisely the aim of the bill on the military budget for 2014 – 2019, which was prepared by the French government and which will soon be proposed for approval by the parliament of the republic.

To achieve this goal will be very difficult. The ministry of defense, where the bill was drafted, does not hide the fact that work on it was under the most difficult financial conditions for the country since the Second World War. It was necessary to solve a difficult task - to prevent the fall of the defense capability, if necessary, to save money. A compromise was found: the military budget is frozen for the next two years at the level of 31,4 billion euros per year (this is 11,3 percent of French budget expenditures, or 1,8 percent of GDP). And by 2019, it will gradually increase to 32,5 billion. In total, the country's military expenditures during this period will amount to 190 billion euros - 179,2 billion will come from the state budget, another 6 billion is expected to come from additional income. Also, funds for replenishing the military budget will give, as planned, the sale of real estate by the Ministry of Defense (200 million), shares in enterprises with state participation (1,5 billion) and 4G frequencies to cellular operators.

“This will allow the army to protect French citizens in France and abroad, to protect our ideas about peace and freedom, as was done in Mali, and also to provide the necessary forces to maintain collective security in Europe,” President Francois Hollande said on the results government meetings. According to him, it was decided to fully maintain the country's strategic nuclear forces. They will still include two elements: submarine nuclear missile carriers and air forces. France will spend over 23 billion euros over the next 6 years to support the strategic nuclear forces.

But the total number of French armed forces during this time will be reduced by another 23.500 people. At the same time, only one-third of the cuts will fall on combat units (they will lose 8.000 people). Two-thirds of the cuts (16.000) will be held at headquarters, as well as in administrative and service structures. The ultimate goal - to 2019 year to bring the number of French armed forces to 242 thousands of people. France must maintain its position as the second military power in Europe after Britain, the ministry of defense of the republic notes.

Judging by the fact that the bill provides for the allocation of additional funds for intelligence and cyber security, these structures will be even more developed. In particular, the number of army special forces will increase by 1.000 people - to 4.000 soldiers. The adviser to one of the French think tanks, Francois Ginzburgh, considers such a measure justified: an increase in the costs of specialized units, which certainly cost more, is strategically more profitable. In addition, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has repeatedly expressed concern about the fact that the country is lagging behind in the field of cyber security, which every year becomes more and more relevant for the military.

Reducing the number of the army itself, according to the analyst, does not mean a decrease in its effectiveness. Proof of this, he says, is a successful operation in Mali, in which all 5.000 soldiers participated, several dozen combat aircraft and helicopters.

The military plans to spend about 17 billion euros to upgrade the material and technical equipment. Priority will be given to all the same means of intelligence: to the MISUS program satellites, they are expected by the 2017 year, as well as to the three CERES satellites that will go into orbit by the 2020 year. 26 unmanned aerial vehicles will be procured.

By the way, the draft law on the military budget sets the task of preserving the French military-industrial complex, in which 165.000 people are directly involved. In this case, the Ministry of Defense will still be forced to slow down the implementation of some contracts for the purchase of military equipment. In particular, the new Rafale combat aircraft manufactured by Dassault Aviation corporation may suffer from this. In the next 6 years, the army will put into service only 26 machines, and not 60, as planned earlier. Thus, the state refuses the previous agreement with Dassault Aviation on the annual purchase of 11 Rafale. The company claims that lower purchase volumes will make aircraft production unprofitable and impossible (the French army ordered these machines to 180, this year it will receive 120).

To save the concern Dassault authorities hope at the expense of exports. In particular, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said India was interested in buying the Rafale plane. However, no sale agreements have yet been signed, which is of concern for the experts: if the planes cannot be sold, they will cost the budget another 4 billion.

The rhythm of purchasing tanker aircraft and military transport aircraft will also slow down. In the next six years, the French army will buy from Airbus only the 2 tanker from the 12 contractually required. From 50 A400M military transport aircraft, only 2019 vehicles will be put into service before 15. The renewal of the fleet of armored personnel carriers for ground forces will slow down: the army will receive only 2.080 from the 100 vehicles ordered.

Commenting on the prepared draft law on the military budget, the journalists of the Les Echos Economic Review note that the previous draft budget adopted in the crisis year 2008 was not executed. They also cite statistics showing that no military budget has been executed (since 1960, France adopted 11 of such bills), and conclude that the current budget will be adjusted.
Our news channels

Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest news and the most important events of the day.

26 comments
Information
Dear reader, to leave comments on the publication, you must sign in.
  1. +4
    26 August 2013 11: 50
    And these warriors are going to attack Syria! Wonderful are your deeds, O Lord! Along with the hero pilots of Normandy-Niemen, among the French there are, if I may say so, "peacemakers" like the current French president and his foreign minister. Yes, in France, children collaborationists, this is evident from the handwriting of their activities.
    1. Hon
      -1
      26 August 2013 16: 47
      Quote: kartalovkolya
      And now these warriors are going to attack Syria! O Lord, your wonderful deeds!

      These fighters helped to throw Gaddafi, in addition, not only they, but also Americans with the Angles will climb into Libya
      1. Hon
        0
        26 August 2013 22: 29
        Quote: Hon
        These fighters helped to throw Gaddafi, in addition, not only they, but also Americans with the Angles will climb into Libya

        Typo. I wanted to write "Syria"
  2. +4
    26 August 2013 11: 57
    This will allow the army to protect French citizens in France

    You read this and remember the active participation of the French army in the battles against the German Wehrmacht in 1940. Ah yes warriors, oh yes well done. If not for them, the USSR would never have been able to win the Great Patriotic War.
    1. +5
      26 August 2013 13: 34
      Quote: Hedgehog
      You read this and remember the active participation of the French army in the battles against the German Wehrmacht in the 1940 year.
      The chaos and confusion that was happening in France, when the Germans bypassed the Maginot line through Belgium, was repeated here in 1941 even larger. France did not have a large territory, with poor roads, human resources and time. No need to blame the French, they are one of the few who took Moscow, and gloriously fought with the Luftwaffe on our fighters in the Normandy-Niemen regiment. Another question is what will Russia do if the guys from the photo from the Foreign Legion enter Syria with the rest of the NATO rabble? Probably, long ago it was necessary to gain a foothold in Tartus, showing the seriousness of their intentions.
      1. Guun
        +2
        26 August 2013 13: 44
        I do not agree with you. German troops launched an attack on France on May 10, 1940, declaring war on Germany on September 3, 1939, in connection with its attack on Poland. As a result of the swift offensive of German troops using the blitzkrieg tactics of blitzkrieg, the allied forces were utterly defeated, and on June 22, France was forced to sign a truce. By this time, most of its territory was occupied, and almost nothing remained of the army. The path of German troops to France ran through the lands of Belgium and the Netherlands, which were the first victims of aggression. German troops captured them in a short time, defeating the French troops and the British Expeditionary Force that had come to the rescue. The Germans said in 1943 that ten campaigns against France were better than one against the USSR. Like this. And the Legion has power so far in it Slavs.
        1. +1
          26 August 2013 20: 20
          Quote: Guun
          I do not agree with you.
          What, dear Guun? Undoubtedly, the difference in the military campaign against France and the attack on the USSR is significant, due to many factors, but the initial rapid success of the Germans is in both cases. Do you disagree with that? The territory seized by the Germans while reaching Moscow and the Volga considerably exceeded the territory of occupied France, do you disagree with that? The losses of our army already in the first month of the war in people and equipment were incomparably greater than the losses of France and England combined during the entire Second World War. Do you disagree with that? In both cases, the Blitzkrieg tactic was used, but in the first case it ensured success, in the second it did not. The fact that we won, and France surrendered, so I did not question it. There are, of course, a lot of Russians in the Foreign Legion now, but it would be better if they weren't there. It is somehow bitter to imagine that our former paratroopers will be forced, if ordered, to enter Syria and shoot at a friendly people, possibly their former comrades who may be on the side of Assad in Syria.
      2. 0
        26 August 2013 22: 06
        Well, here you are fundamentally wrong, with all due respect, but there was only one episode that the French were confused to imagine as almost opposing the Wehrmacht, and the most daring even for some failed dowel, this is a counter-strike by De Gaulle's division. And the rest is obvious that the French openly broke into the First World War. How can one compare the catastrophe that led to the surrender of the country and the struggle that led to the Great Victory? With all due respect, you are passionately carried away by comparison, and the French probably will never wash off the shame of 40 of the year.
        1. +1
          26 August 2013 23: 34
          I compared, dear tomket, only the successful actions of the Germans, during the initial use of the Blitzkrieg tactics, noted the army of Napoleon, who conquered Europe and reached Moscow, and praised the French pilots from the Normandie-Niemen. Besides, isn't General Charles de Gaulle an intelligent and courageous man? If he had the time, territory and resources of Russia, perhaps France, like the USSR, would be able to regroup and gather strength. On the contrary, if the USSR had the territory and resources of France, we would hardly have had any chances to recover from the preemptive strike of the Germans. I'm talking about that. The topic was not about any "heroic resistance" of the French in 1940, and even more so, the victory of our army over Nazi Germany was not questioned.
  3. Jack122
    +2
    26 August 2013 12: 03
    31,4 billion euros per year (11,3 percent of France’s budget expenditures
    ----
    ??? French budget expenditures of 1,2 trillion.
    1. 0
      26 August 2013 12: 32
      Quote: Jack122
      31,4 billion euros per year (11,3 percent of France’s budget expenditures
      ----
      ??? French budget expenditures of 1,2 trillion.


      Haha))) As you thought, this is not even the same order of numbers. 277 billion billion euros is obtained, about 12,1 trillion rubles. This year we have 13,5 trillion expenses.

      In particular, Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian announced India’s interest in buying a Rafale plane. However, no sales agreements have yet been signed,


      Rafal did not understand, but he won the Indian tender for 126 cars, so India is not just interested. And although the cost of the light Rafale is 2 times more expensive than the "heavy" Su-30))
      1. Jack122
        +1
        26 August 2013 12: 40
        The budget of France is 1,2 trillion dollars, and what does the ruble have to do with it? Google
  4. +3
    26 August 2013 12: 18
    Gays will be reduced ..))) So that the army does not turn into a bunch of pi ... ov .. laughing
    1. +3
      26 August 2013 12: 25
      What are you? Hollande rightly said: To defend our ideas about peace and freedom .. So that most likely they’ll disperse the normal ones and make the army homosexual .. with mandatory manicure and pedicure and an afternoon name for each other in the anus ..
      1. +1
        26 August 2013 15: 48
        Which will sob in sight. I can’t shoot, he’s too handsome.
    2. +1
      26 August 2013 14: 16
      Quote: MIKHAN
      Gays will be reduced ..))) So that the army does not turn into a bunch of pi ... s.

      Come on!? If they cut homosexuals out of the army, the strength of the French Armed Forces will drop to the size of the police department in Muhosque.
  5. +2
    26 August 2013 12: 31
    With all the homosexuality in France, they did not forget how to make a lot of weapons.
  6. Vtel
    +1
    26 August 2013 13: 34
    What is for us is that even if the custodians are completely disarmed. Here are the Yankees with the Saxons - behind these eyes and into the eye.
  7. Kovrovsky
    +3
    26 August 2013 14: 12
    The Germans said in 1943 that ten campaigns against France were better than one against the USSR.

    Of course, if the Germans occupied France faster than they captured one street in Stalingrad!
    1. +1
      26 August 2013 15: 50
      The Germans were especially shocked when they signed the surrender. How??? We lost to the French ????
  8. 0
    26 August 2013 14: 22
    Hmmm ... Maybe this is the right decision. To spend money on a fig? With such an influx of "democratically-minded" Arab-Negro migrants, most likely, they will not need an army - France will just quietly bend down like a European power. Only homosexuals and Islamists will remain. Guess who will win? The option "friendship" will not work.
  9. High speed
    +2
    26 August 2013 14: 30
    1812 - France against us - received!
    1914-1918 - France and I - uh, resisted!
    1939-1945 - France without us - laughing

    France! Make friends with Russia!
  10. 0
    26 August 2013 15: 13
    They are cutting a little, it’s necessary to cut all of them, what for does the army need them? Of the gays, all the same, there are no warriors, to some extent from the remaining.
    1. -2
      26 August 2013 18: 02
      Quote: Max Otto
      Of gays, no warriors

      recourse in fact, some Spartans were gay and Gladiators (in the Spartak Army, too)! Gay does not mean that he does menicure or pedicure and does not know how to fight! even some Gays will be Courageous than some normal Guys in the Army and In Life
  11. -2
    26 August 2013 15: 26
    Something many here are blaming the French army and defense industry, but after all, Russia currently purchases a lot of things for its army in France - for example, thermal imagers for tanks (in Russia they still have not learned how to do them), plus Mistral, and the French missiles (all: air-to-air, ground-to-air, anti-tank systems) some of the best in the world apparently don’t know those who want the French, and as for World War II, the Germans came up with a new style of war there: blitzkrieg and just the Frenchmen were unlucky
    1. Guun
      +2
      26 August 2013 15: 38
      They captured you in less than a month, and YOU declared war on them, and sincerely believing that the French army of the Germans will stop and your artillery will wipe them to smithereens! They say the Maginot line is super-duper (I agree it was very technological, but useless) and the world does not have this — but the Germans took it and went around scoffing at you — they say that the land has not seen an easier victory. And yet, your special forces are also the best in the world, like your missiles?
      1. +4
        26 August 2013 15: 46
        Quote: Guun
        And yet, your special forces are also the best in the world, like your missiles?

        And "French love" is also out of competition ... laughing
      2. 0
        26 August 2013 15: 53
        I say again: the Second World War is one thing (it already happened, and it passed, Russia was also pulled before by the Poles, Turks) we are talking about now: before speaking negatively about France, do you at least give some arguments other than authorizing homosexuality ...
        1. Guun
          0
          26 August 2013 16: 09
          Sarkozy and Hollande. In the light of France!
  12. 0
    26 August 2013 18: 18
    I would also like to say that when French planes bombed Libya and the rebels won thanks to this, something the Russians could not help their friends in any way: so draw conclusions from this
  13. 0
    26 August 2013 20: 32
    By the way, about the effectiveness of the operation in Mali. The French faced a shortage of tanker and cargo aircraft to supply the contingent, helped them all with the NATO alliance. Even 5000 groups lacked their capabilities to effectively supply them.

"Right Sector" (banned in Russia), "Ukrainian Insurgent Army" (UPA) (banned in Russia), ISIS (banned in Russia), "Jabhat Fatah al-Sham" formerly "Jabhat al-Nusra" (banned in Russia) , Taliban (banned in Russia), Al-Qaeda (banned in Russia), Anti-Corruption Foundation (banned in Russia), Navalny Headquarters (banned in Russia), Facebook (banned in Russia), Instagram (banned in Russia), Meta (banned in Russia), Misanthropic Division (banned in Russia), Azov (banned in Russia), Muslim Brotherhood (banned in Russia), Aum Shinrikyo (banned in Russia), AUE (banned in Russia), UNA-UNSO (banned in Russia), Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People (banned in Russia), Legion “Freedom of Russia” (armed formation, recognized as terrorist in the Russian Federation and banned)

“Non-profit organizations, unregistered public associations or individuals performing the functions of a foreign agent,” as well as media outlets performing the functions of a foreign agent: “Medusa”; "Voice of America"; "Realities"; "Present time"; "Radio Freedom"; Ponomarev; Savitskaya; Markelov; Kamalyagin; Apakhonchich; Makarevich; Dud; Gordon; Zhdanov; Medvedev; Fedorov; "Owl"; "Alliance of Doctors"; "RKK" "Levada Center"; "Memorial"; "Voice"; "Person and law"; "Rain"; "Mediazone"; "Deutsche Welle"; QMS "Caucasian Knot"; "Insider"; "New Newspaper"