Le Monde: there are a serious weaknesses in the French army
The Le Monde newspaper, confirmed that in the event of a major conflict, the French forces would face a severe shortage of long-range artillery and ammunition, in addition to the French army’s lack of modern weapons.
Le Monde said the French army’s chiefs of staff were reluctant to discuss their weaknesses during the parliamentary hearings held behind closed doors in July by the new Defense Committee of the National Assembly, the minutes of which were published in early August.
Le Monde added that “these statements are certainly aimed at persuading deputies to support them financially, while French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to re-evaluate the Military Programming (LPM) law in effect (2019-2025)”.
Le Monde added that after these sessions, Chief of Staff Thierry Borcard said that “the French army in recent years has fought unequal struggles that prompted it to make concessions that reduced some of the French capabilities”.
“Our ability to be an expeditionary force doesn’t immediately make us able to wage a very intense war,” Burkar added.
For his part, the Chief of Staff of the French Navy, Admiral Pierre Vandier, admitted that “the French Navy has never been this small before”.
The number of fighters in France has been reduced to a third, and there has been a need to purchase additional drones and long-range artillery, and to modernize air defense systems.
Although not so long ago the French forces received new models of equipment, the army still lacks modern weapons.
Previous reports said that France intends to spend 85 million euros to make up for the shortfall of a quarter of its arsenal of self-propelled guns, after delivering 18 CAESAR guns to Kyiv.
“The amount of 85 million euros will allow us to renew” the arsenal, AFP quoted Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Licornu as saying during a hearing at the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the French Senate.
Before the start of the war in Ukraine, France had 76 CAESAR guns.
The Nexter Company that produces this weapon stated that it currently takes more than 18 months to manufacture this gun.
