The draft French military programming law (LPM) 2024-2030, presented this Tuesday, April 4 in the Council of Ministers, provides for annual increases “ unprecedented » from 3 to 4 billion euros of the budget of the armies, against a background of the return of the war in Europe and of inflation.
After years of budget scarcity, the rise in power of the armies is recorded. Never has a military programming law benefited from such a high budget: 413 billion. From 2019 to 2030, the budget of the armed forces will thus have almost doubled, an immediate consequence of the return of war in Europe.
This XXL budget should make it possible to strengthen nuclear deterrence and the capacity to deal with a high-intensity conflict, but also to harden the armies in new areas of conflict such as cyber, the deep seabed and space. If no military capability will be abandoned, there will be priorities, such as the modernization of long-range artillery, the start of construction of the next aircraft carrier… It will also be necessary to finance research programs for the aircraft and the tank of the future.
The army budget will thus increase by 3.1 billion euros in 2024, then by 3 per year from 2025 to 2027, before “steps” of 4.3 billion per year from 2028, i.e. beyond the current five-year term. A ” floor trajectory “to which” it may be necessary to provide supplements “Depending on the threat, underlines the Ministry of the Armed Forces, which hopes for the adoption of the LPM by Parliament before July 14.
Minister Sébastien Lecornu also wishes to request an additional expenditure of 1.5 billion euros in 2023, in addition to an annual budget of 43.9 billion, in order to deal with ” operational emergencies “, particularly in terms of drones and the fight against drones, one of the weaknesses of the French military system revealed by Ukraine, but also to cushion the effects of inflation.
” We cannot say what it will be in four or five years, but it will cut a significant part of the nominal budgets that are announced. It’s a significant effort, but that doesn’t mean it’s opulence in the armies “, points out the deputy Jean-Charles Larssoneur, member of the Defense commission. Inflation should amputate the LPM by 30 billion euros, which will result in slowing the delivery of new equipment to the army and the transition to all Rafale in the air force.
(And with AFP)