The finance bill presented on Wednesday by the government does not harm the army budget for 2024, the first year of the Military Programming Law (LPM). As defined and approved by Parliament on July 13, it will reach 47.2 billion euros, that is, an increase of 7.5% (3.3 billion euros) compared to 2023. Of the seven In the coming years, the armies They will have an endowment of 413 billion euros, an increase of 43% compared to the previous LPM.
Progress has continued since 2017, the date of Emmanuel Macron’s first election as head of state. As the Ministry of the Armed Forces points out, this budget has increased by 46% since Emmanuel Macron’s first election. Progression should make it possible to reach 2% of GDP. In 2024, the defense budget is close to 1.94%.
Equipment, recruitment and intelligence.
Specifically, the €47.2 billion will be spent on orders worth €13.6 billion, excluding deterrence. 2024 will also be an important year in terms of deliveries with 13 Rafale, the Tourville nuclear attack submarine under the Barracuda program, a defense and intervention cyber frigate (FDI), two A400M, 274 Scorpion armored vehicles (138 Griffon, 103 Serval and 33 Jaguar), 12 Caesar cannons, 103 ambulances and an additional 1.5 billion euros in ammunition of all types.
The budgets for the SCAF (future air combat system) and MGCS (future tank) programs will be 307 and 22 million euros respectively. The contribution to NATO will weigh 302 million euros. An amount of 1.2 billion euros will be dedicated to innovation.
The intelligence services are not left out with a budget of 500 million euros divided into 425 million for the DGSE (General Directorate of Foreign Security), 65 million for the DRM (Directorate of Military Intelligence) and 51 for the DRSD (Directorate of Defense Intelligence). and security).
A significant effort will be dedicated to the maintenance and conservation of the equipment. This item benefits from an increase of 745 million euros (+15%) for a total amount of 5.7 billion euros. This is the second position to benefit from this adjustment after the increase in deterrence of 750 million euros.
A particular effort is planned in terms of human resources to not only recruit, but also retain staff with a budget that will increase by 577 million euros (+5%) for payroll. In 2024, the Ministry of the Armed Forces plans to recruit 28,300 soldiers and civilians (intelligence, cyber, operational units and export support). “Wage measures” worth €184 million will also be dedicated to pressured professions such as cyber, health and deterrence.
One of the few items that decreases is the amount of provisions intended to finance French foreign operations. Consequence of the withdrawal of French troops from Mali. In 2024, the amount of Opex will increase from 1.2 billion to 800 million euros.
Source: BFM TV
