The deputies approved in commission the principle of an army budget increased to 413,300 million euros in seven years (2024-2030), this programming law (LPM) still to be debated for two weeks in the chamber. The budget of the armed forces would be complemented by successive steps: + 3.1 billion euros in 2024 then 3.0 billion per year from 2025 to 2027 and finally 4.3 billion per year from 2028. that the most important efforts come before the end of the five from President Emmanuel Macron – one-year term.
In commission, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, defended a “historic” investment and the will to turn these “steps” into “floors”. On the other hand, he specified that the bar of 2% of GDP for defense, a commitment of NATO members, would no longer necessarily be reached as of “2025”, but rather “before the end of the five-year period”. Most of the opposition deputies abstained during the committee vote, particularly on the left and in the National Group (RN). The minister will once again defend his version for two weeks in a public session starting on May 22.
“Maintain the level of our army”
The executive should be looking at the Les Républicains (LR) group side. In commission, Jean-Louis Thiériot (LR) estimated that the right could not, subject to the evolution of the text, “oppose a 30% increase in budgets”, but spoke “in a personal capacity”. And with good reason, its president Olivier Marleix estimated in le figaro that the 413 billion only allow “maintaining the level of our army after decades of scarcity.” He also regrets that 13,300 million must come from extra-budgetary resources, which, in his opinion, makes these credits uncertain. But the LRs won a committee amendment aimed at better securing them.
With the left, disagreements promise to emerge in the chamber, particularly over the place of the nuclear deterrent, arms sales and the status of the military. “Our firm will be expensive,” promises a socialist executive. A significant portion of the seven-year budget will be used to cover inflation. Its effect is estimated at 30 billion, according to the ministry. The LPM, for its part, maintains the programs linked to nuclear deterrence or the next-generation aircraft carrier calendar for 2038, and dedicates investments to cybersecurity, space or intelligence. Despite the increase in resources, armies should not escape certain delays in equipment deliveries (Armoured, Scorpion, Griffon, Rafale).
Source: BFM TV
