Despite public finances in the worst of the worst, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, will be expressed this Sunday, July 13 at 7 pm in “defense efforts” to face the worsening of threats and strong international tensions.
During his traditional speech against armies on the eve of the national holidays in the gardens of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, in the Hôtel de Brienne, the head of state will make “important ads,” according to the Conlysée.
Then he announced An important evolution of French nuclear doctrine and in -depth cooperation with the United Kingdom.
The president must be remarkably sketch to make the workforce of the armies grow, while the risk of a high intensity conflict has been strengthened. “It is necessary to give the option to serve, not to restore the mandatory national service, but allow a young volunteer to learn with the armies and strengthen the ranks,” said the president last January.
SMV and strengthening of the reserve
Several options are on the table. For several months, Emmanuel Macron begged to strengthen voluntary military service (SMV), a system created in 2015 and for young people from 18 to 25 years away from employment. For 10 years, 10,000 volunteers have been trained there. The head of state could announce its development.
Another track: increase the number of reservists. Today there are 45,000 and the government expects to reach the number of 52,000 in December 2026.
“The 2030 Army will be hybrid: an army of active and reserve skills with hardened skills. The reserve should not be an alert. It must be fully integrated throughout the spectrum of the missions and not only to serve to replace the soldiers of the active army in certain circumstances,” said Sébastien Lecornu this Sunday in the gallery on Sunday.
The formation of these volunteers requires a “minimum duration of six months to one year, to learn to crash in the field, use a weapon, possibly kill someone in the war without being murdered,” BFMTV said Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Abaretier, military historian and political science doctor.
“Sustainable” threat “
To prepare the spirits for these ads, the chief of armies staff, General Thierry Burkhard, brushed a dark table of threats on Friday at a rare press conference, a few days after another unprecedented intervention on television of the head of the DGSE, the external intelligence service, Nicolás Lerner.
On the basis of the conclusions of the strategic national review that will be published this Sunday, the highest classification in French mentioned the “sustainable” threat of Russia against European countries, US disconnection, Ukraine, where “is also playing (…) the place of European countries in the world of tomorrow”, misinformation and hybrid attacks or fight against terrorism.
Faced with this, “making the round” will not solve anything, according to him, “we have to integrate that we are well in front of a change in the strategic reference point.”
With an autonomous defense model: “If you do not want to depend on anyone, it inevitably implies a new effort, not only budget, but also intellectual, moral and industrial,” according to him.
Budget as a clear increase
These “councils” raise the issue of the adequacy of French military resources, according to ELYSÉE, which recalls that the defense budget increased between 2017 and 2025 from 32.2 to 50.5 billion euros.
As is, the French Military Programming Law (LPM) provides 413 billion euros for armies between 2024 and 2030, with annual budget increases of just over 3 billion euros to reach 67.4 billion in 2030.
Can France be happy with reviewing their priorities within the planned envelope or will go further, even though the government hinders budget savings?
The only debt burden this year reaches 62 billion euros and threatens to fly, according to Prime Minister François Bayrou, who will present his guidance for the 2026 budget on Tuesday. The Head of Government has already sanctuized the defense budget, saying that it was “crowned.”
“100 billion euros”
Some European countries have not expected the objective established by NATO member countries in June to dedicate 5% of their GDP to their safety (3.5% for military spending) by 2035 to improve their ambitions.
London wants to take its 2.5% defense budget by 2027, then 3% after 2029. Germany plans to reach a defense budget of 162 billion euros in 2029, or 3.5% of its GDP, and Poland already dedicates 4.7% of its national wealth.
Sébastien Lecornu had estimated last winter “the weight of the form of the French army in just under 100 billion euros.” In early July before the senators, he drew effort routes: defense of land in the air, ammunition, media of electronic war or even space, where Europe runs the risk of “abandoning.”
While the “national cohesion” constitutes a “key element of resilience” of the country in the face of crises, according to General Burkhard, the president will also address the question of the mobilization of young people, who is necessary to give “the opportunity to serve,” according to the Elysée.
Source: BFM TV
