The French President seeks to increase defense spending by €3.5 billion by 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Sunday that he seeks to boost the defense budget by adding 3.5 billion euros in spending in 2026 and another 3 billion euros in 2027, in the face of mounting threats.

In his traditional address to the armed forces on the eve of National Day, Macron said that an update to the military programming law for the period 2024-2030 would be presented in the fall.

With these increases, which are added to the annual budget increases provided for under the Military Programming Act, the defense budget will have nearly doubled over the ten years of Macron’s two presidential terms, rising from €32.2 billion in 2017 to approximately €64 billion in 2027.

Thus, France will have allocated defense spending for 2027 that it had projected would reach in 2029, marking a two-year acceleration.

“This new and historic effort is proportionate, credible, necessary, and exactly what we really need,” Macron said.

While the government must cut the budget to try to control public spending, Macron stressed the impossibility of proceeding with rearmament through debt.

“Our military independence cannot be separated from our financial independence, so this will be financed through more activity and more productivity,” the French president said.

He recalled that military expenditures are also a source of wealth for our GDP, as equipment is primarily purchased from French manufacturers.

He called on the French to accept this effort, describing it as a temporary effort by everyone to preserve our security and independence.

He stressed that the safety of the nation requires that we increase spending on our defense and that each person bear their share of the burden.

According to Macron, these additional resources will help “fill our weak points,” referring to ammunition stockpiles, precision weapons, drones, and space capabilities, as well as the equipment needed on a daily basis to ensure the implementation of operations.

These funds will also be used to strengthen surface-to-air defense capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities, which have proven essential during the war in Ukraine.