Faced with threats, Macron will announce new defense ambitions

Despite public finances in dire straits , French President Emmanuel Macron will speak on Sunday evening about the " defense efforts " needed in the face of worsening threats and a crumbling world order . During his traditional address to the armed forces on the eve of the national holiday in the gardens of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, at the Hôtel de Brienne, the head of state will make " major announcements ," according to the Élysée.

To prepare minds, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Thierry Burkhard, painted a grim picture of the threats on Friday in a rare press conference, a few days after another unprecedented television appearance by the head of the DGSE, the foreign intelligence service, Nicolas Lerner.

Also read : Defense budget: how Macron puts Bayrou under pressure

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Based on the conclusions of the National Strategic Review, which is to be published this Sunday, the highest-ranking French official discussed the " lasting " threat from Russia against European countries, the American disengagement, Ukraine, where " the place of European countries in the world of tomorrow is also at stake ," disinformation and hybrid attacks, and the fight against terrorism. Faced with this, " turning our backs " will not resolve anything, according to him, " we must accept that we are indeed facing a change in strategic framework ."

" We are not here to stir up fears or worries, we are here to document them and provide answers ," said Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu to La Tribune on Sunday . With an autonomous defense model: " if we don't want to depend on anyone, this necessarily requires a new effort, not only budgetary, but also intellectual, moral and industrial ," he said.

These " shifts " raise the question of the adequacy of French military resources, according to the Élysée, which points out that the defense budget increased from €32.2 billion to €50.5 billion between 2017 and 2025. As it stands, the French Military Planning Law (LPM) provides €413 billion for the armed forces between 2024 and 2030, with annual budget increases of just over €3 billion, reaching €67.4 billion in 2030.

The debt burden has reached 62 billion euros this year and threatens to skyrocket, according to Prime Minister François Bayrou, who is due to unveil his guidelines for the 2026 budget on Tuesday. The head of government has already protected the defense budget, saying it is " sacred ."

" Very clearly, we must now review our programming and our strategy, revise it in light of the changing nature of the risk ," Emmanuel Macron admitted Thursday. Sébastien Lecornu had estimated this winter " the ideal weight of the French army at just under 100 billion euros ." In early July, before senators, he outlined avenues of effort: ground-to-air defense, munitions, electronic warfare means, and even space, where Europe is at risk of " falling behind ." " What concerns us most and creates a new budgetary need is technological breakthroughs " (AI, quantum, aircraft stealth, etc.), he told La Tribune on Sunday.

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While " national cohesion " constitutes a " key element of the country's resilience " in the face of crises, according to General Burkhard, the president will also address the issue of mobilizing young people, who must be given " the opportunity to serve ," according to the Élysée.