Emmanuel Macron has unveiled a review that contains important new thinking about France’s response to shifting threats
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskOne arresting element of the document is its focus on Europe. In his speech Mr Macron announced the official end of, a French counter-terrorism mission first sent to beat back a jihadist insurgency in Mali in 2013. Although France pulled its troops out of Mali in August this year, 3,000 remain in the wider region. French soldiers, he said, would still deploy to the Sahel but only in support of local missions.
At the same time, with war raging on its doorstep, the review stresses the need for France to prepare its armed forces for “”, with an implicit emphasis on Europe. General Thierry Burkhard, chief of the French armed forces, has long argued—presciently, it turns out—for a remodelling of the military around readiness for this sort of war. The document does not say so, but analysts suggest France now aspires to have a full division ready for war in eastern Europe.
The good news for the armed forces is that they will have more resources to meet these aims. In September Mr Macron’s government announced that the defence budget for 2023 would grow by an inflation-beating 7.4% to €43.9bn , a 36% leap from 2017. The bulk of that is to be spent on new equipment.
Speaking from aboard a helicopter-carrier in Toulon, Mr Macron struck a sombre note. It would require a “Copernican revolution”, he said, to think through new forms of conflict: “The aggression against Ukraine risks foreshadowing greater geopolitical rivalries to come.”Europe
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
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