French President Emmanuel Macron announced on the 13th that France will further increase its defense budget to respond to an increasingly complex external environment.
Macron stated that, based on the current plan, France’s defense budget will be increased by 3.5 billion euros in 2026 and by 3 billion euros in 2027. According to this plan, France’s defense budget will reach 64 billion euros (about 318 billion ringgit) by 2027, doubling compared to 2017. He also said that the current military planning law will be revised.
Macron made this announcement during his annual speech to the military ahead of France’s July 14 National Day. He said that the international situation is unstable and that power politics is disregarding rules. France “must be formidable to maintain freedom; to be formidable, we must be strong ourselves.”
France promulgated the “2024-2030 Military Planning Law” in 2023, and originally planned to achieve the goal of doubling the defense budget by 2030.