France is planning a €36 billion increase in military spending, as the head of France's armed forces warned MPs of the risk of war with Russia.
“The persistent Russian threat to our continent, with an open war [...] remains my primary concern in terms of military preparedness,” Fabien Mandon, the army’s chief of staff, told a parliamentary defence committee on Thursday.
He said Russia had 1.3 million soldiers in 2025 and could reach 1.9 million by 2030.
Mandon also said the number of Russian heavy tanks could rise from 4,000 in 2025 to 7,000 by 2030, while the navy would keep between 230 and 240 combat ships.
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Spending hike
His comments came after the government presented its update to the Military Programming Law at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
The plan includes an extra €36 billion in defence spending for 2024-2030, on top of the €413 billion already set out for the period.
The increase will be put to a vote in July and will focus on building up ammunition stockpiles, including drones, strengthening air defence and speeding up development of long-range artillery.
The revised plan would raise defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by the end of the decade, up from about 2 percent now.
Drawing on lessons from the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the plan places strong emphasis on stockpiling arms and ammunition. Stocks are expected to rise sharply across several types of weapons, including drones, missiles, artillery shells and torpedoes.
It also includes studies for a new conventional ballistic missile with a range of up to 2,500 km, alongside upgrades to cruise missiles.
Air and missile defence will receive an extra €1.6 billion to speed up delivery of surface-to-air missile systems and expand anti-drone measures on land, at sea and around key sites. Drone and robotic warfare will receive another €2 billion.
By 2030, defence spending is set to reach €76.3 billion, up from €47.2 billion in 2024.
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Forces unchanged
French defence officials said the overall size of the armed forces would remain unchanged. The military will keep 210,000 active personnel, 225 combat aircraft and 15 top-tier frigates.
“We are in a period of danger. We should not provoke anxiety, but simply raise awareness, because we need this defence investment,” Mandon said.
On Thursday, the Kremlin rejected the concerns he raised.
“Russia poses no threat to any country […] that in no way plans to undermine the security of the Russian Federation,” government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the French news agency AFP.
Earlier in the week, Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said France had already ordered 10,000 small drones.
“We will have 5,000 as early as this year,” she said. “The government’s responsibility is to anticipate and provide very concrete responses to prepare our country.”
When announcing the defence spending boost in January, French President Emmanuel Macron said the funding was needed to maintain the operational strength of the armed forces.
He also called on defence companies to produce equipment faster and in larger quantities.
“We are not competitive when delivery times for new capabilities are five to seven years,” Macron said. “There is fierce competition that requires us to be far more proactive.”
(with newswires)
