France to request multibillion-dollar defense budget boost in 2023

STUTTGART, Germany – The French government is proposing a €44 billion ($45 billion) budget for its military in 2023, including a €3 billion ($3 billion) increase over last year’s budget.

Newly appointed Minister of Defense Sébastien Lecornu revealed the proposed funding numbers during a July 7 hearing before the Defense Committee of France’s National Assembly. If enacted, the increase would be nearly twice as much as France had previously committed to boosting its year-over-year budget in the last two years.

In pitching the funding increase, Lecornu referenced President Emmanuel Macron’s speech at the recent Eurosatory trade conference, in which the newly reelected president declared France had entered a “war economy.”

Lecornu noted that France is in “a delicate situation” when it comes to the ongoing war in Ukraine, and that the support Paris is providing to Kiev in its self-defense has prompted several updates to the budget. The military will need to replenish munitions and equipment that have been sent to Ukraine, along with fighter jets that have been exported to nations such as Greece .

The government is also looking to fund major modernization efforts such as the army’s Scorpion program, to support ongoing efforts to combat terrorism, and to boost its defense industrial base, he added.

With the hybrid war in Ukraine as a backdrop, France must also work to improve its capabilities in cyber offense, space, and unmanned systems, Lecornu said.

France’s parliament will have a say in the final budget amount, and the Assembly’s defense committee plans to interview additional government leaders as well as industry chiefs in the months to come, said Committee President Thomas Gassilloud. Joël Barre, chief of the military procurement office Direction Générale de L’Armement (DGA), will appear before the committee July 13 in a closed session.

Lawmakers grilled Lecornu on a matter of topics in his first hearing as defense minister. On many lawmakers’ minds was the future of the Future Combat Air System, or FCAS, known in France as the système combat aérien du futur, or SCAF.

The Franco-German-Spanish program has been at a standstill for months as two of the prime contractors, France’s Dassault and Germany’s Airbus, have reached an impasse on workshare agreements related to the keystone pillar of the program, the next-generation fighter. Indra leads the Spanish industry’s cooperation on FCAS.

Pressed for time, Lecornu commented only briefly on FCAS’ status, assuring lawmakers that the program was active, industry negotiations are ongoing, and that he continues to discuss the program with his German counterpart, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht. The Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), another major joint equipment program between France and Germany, is also ongoing, he added.

Lecornu told lawmakers that the ministry’s next five-year budget plan – known as the loi de programmation militaire (LPM) – will include a strong focus on France’s naval fleet, specifically on its aircraft carriers.

France currently operates one aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, and has launched a program to build a new ship beginning in 2025, which is due to enter service upon the retirement of Charles de Gaulle.

The ministry will be discussing the possibility of returning to a two-aircraft carrier model, and will include parliament in those discussions, Lecornu said.

Some lawmakers expressed concern about the proposed €3 billion budget increase, calling it obsolete and insufficient in the wake of rising inflation and the supplies to Ukraine.

Lecornu acknowledged their worries, but said that the real question should be regarding the rate of inflation in 2023.

“And about that, I’m not an economist, but there are some optimistic scenarios and some more pessimistic scenarios,” he said.

He pushed back on a lawmaker’s description that the nation’s defense industry was in tatters. “There is an incredible know-how in France. I believe many, many, many nations dream of having our defense base, our defense industrial and technological base,” he said.

“That we need to do better, that we can surely change some things, I’m not saying the contrary,” he continued. “But to say that our defense apparatus, or that our defense industrial apparatus is in tatters, is just not true.”

In 2022, the French ministry of defense allocated €40.9 billion (U.S. $47.9 billion) to its military budget, a €1.7 billion increase over the 2021 enacted budget.

Vivienne Machi is a reporter based in Stuttgart, Germany, contributing to Defense News' European coverage. She previously reported for National Defense Magazine, Defense Daily, Via Satellite, Foreign Policy and the Dayton Daily News. She was named the Defence Media Awards' best young defense journalist in 2020.

德国斯图加特——法国政府提议2023年军费预算为440亿欧元（450亿美元），比去年的预算增加30亿欧元（30亿美元）。

新任国防部长塞巴斯蒂安·勒科尔努在7月7日法国国民议会国防委员会的听证会上公布了拟议的拨款数字。如果获得通过，这一增幅将几乎是法国过去两年每年预算增幅的两倍。

在提出增加资金的建议时，勒科尔努提到了法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙在最近的欧洲防务贸易会议上的讲话，这位新当选的总统在讲话中宣布法国已经进入了“战时经济”。

勒科尔努指出，法国在乌克兰战争问题上处境“微妙”，巴黎对基辅自卫的支持促使法国对预算进行了多次调整。军方需要补充已运往乌克兰的弹药和装备，以及出口到希腊等国的战斗机。

他还补充说，政府也在寻求为重大现代化项目提供资金，例如陆军的“蝎子”计划，以支持正在进行的反恐努力，并增强其国防工业基础。

勒科尔努表示，在乌克兰混合战争的背景下，法国还必须努力提高其在网络进攻、太空和无人系统方面的能力。

法国议会将对最终预算金额拥有发言权，议会国防委员会主席托马斯·加西卢德表示，该委员会计划在未来几个月内约谈更多政府领导人和行业领袖。法国国防总局（DGA）局长乔尔·巴雷将于7月13日出席委员会的闭门会议。

在莱科尔努就任国防部长后的首次听证会上，议员们就一系列问题对他进行了质询。许多议员关心的是未来作战空中系统（FCAS，在法国被称为système combat aérien du futur，简称SCAF）的未来。

由于两家主要承包商——法国达索公司和德国空客公司——在下一代战斗机这一项目核心部件的工作分工协议上陷入僵局，法德西联合研制的下一代战斗机项目已停滞数月。西班牙Indra公司负责领导西班牙工业界在未来空中作战系统（FCAS）项目上的合作。

由于时间紧迫，勒科尔努仅就未来空中作战系统（FCAS）的进展情况作了简短评论，他向议员们保证该项目正在推进，与业界的谈判也在进行中，并且他正继续与德国国防部长克里斯蒂娜·兰布雷希特就该项目进行磋商。他还补充说，法德两国另一项重要的联合装备项目——主战地面作战系统（MGCS）也在进行中。

勒科尔努告诉议员们，国防部的下一个五年预算计划——即军事规划法（LPM）——将重点关注法国海军舰队，特别是其航空母舰。

法国目前拥有一艘航空母舰“戴高乐”号，并已启动一项建造新舰的计划，该舰将于 2025 年开始建造，并将在“戴高乐”号退役后投入使用。

莱科尔努表示，国防部将讨论恢复双航母模式的可能性，并将议会纳入这些讨论中。

一些议员对拟议的 30 亿欧元预算增加表示担忧，称在通货膨胀加剧和对乌克兰的物资供应不足的情况下，该预算已经过时且不足。

莱科尔努承认他们的担忧，但表示真正的问题应该是 2023 年的通货膨胀率。

“关于这一点，我不是经济学家，但有一些乐观的预测，也有一些悲观的预测，”他说。

他反驳了某位议员关于法国国防工业已千疮百孔的说法。“法国拥有令人难以置信的专业技术。我相信很多很多国家都梦想拥有我们这样的国防基地、国防工业和技术基地，”他说。

“我们需要做得更好，我们当然可以改变一些事情，我并没有否认这一点，”他继续说道。“但要说我们的国防体系，或者说我们的国防工业体系已经崩溃，那就完全是无稽之谈了。”

2022年，法国国防部向其军事预算拨款409亿欧元（479亿美元），比2021年颁布的预算增加了17亿欧元。

薇薇安·马奇是驻德国斯图加特的一名记者，主要负责《防务新闻》的欧洲报道。她此前曾为《国家防务杂志》、《防务日报》、《卫星通讯》、《外交政策》和《代顿每日新闻》撰稿。2020年，她荣获防务媒体奖最佳青年防务记者称号。