“The military is worried, and that’s normal, everyone is in a bit of a wait-and-see mode,” Hélène Conway-Mouret, a Socialist senator who co-drafted a report on France’s 2025 defense budget, told POLITICO.
“We need to make sure the political consensus that emerged in 2024 to increase defense spending continues,” she said, adding that “even with the €3.3 billion boost, the seven-year military planning law is not ambitious enough.”
France will reach NATO’s target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense this year, but the budget was slated to continue rising as the country looks to modernize its arsenal to deal with rising global tensions.
French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu warned earlier this month that not having a proper defense budget could postpone an order for a next-generation aircraft carrier and freeze 700 hires, including in critical areas such as cyber and AI.
Other military purchases expected next year include a frigate, mine-sweepers, the upgrade of 120 light armored vehicles, and loads of missiles.
In the corridors of the armed forces ministry, officials concede that delays are to be expected until parliament agrees to the €3.3 billion increase.
