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The Minister of the Armies Sébastien Lecornu defended on Monday in front of the National Assembly the need for an envelope of 413 billion euros over seven years, for the “reparation of a defense tool” that is “broken” and for “transforming” certain functions of the army.
La hausse sensible du budget militaire sur le grill de l’Assemblée. The Minister of the Armies Sébastien Lecornua defended on Monday, May 22 in front of the Hémicycle the need for an envelope of 413 billion euros over seven years, for the “reparation of a tool” of defense “broken” and for “transforming” certain functions of the army.
At the opening of the debates in the Hemicycle on the project of the military programming law 2024-2030 (LPM), the minister supported a text that “does not propose a fundamental rupture with our historical model”, but suggests that the “adapter ” dans un contexte de “compétition plus dure entre grandes puissances, sur fond de proliferation nucléaire”.
Le texte doit “poursuivre une réparation d’un outil de défense bîmé dans le passé par des politiques court-termistes”, a encore affirmés le minister.
“True political moment”
Anticipating the criticisms of the oppositions who denounced the effects of the announcement, the minister invited the deputies to “a moment of political truth” and to a debate “model against model”.
If the 413.3 billion promised constitutes a net increase compared to the previous law (295 billion for 2019-2025), the opposition intends to attack the text on several fronts, notably on the subject of the 13.3 billion that will depend on extra resources -budgeters. “Elles ont toujours existé”, a martelé M. Lecornu.
The opponents of this LPM accuse him also of pushing back the most important budget increases after 2027, at the end of Macron’s second five-year term.
Critiquant ceux qui ont “réduit les budgets de nos armées quand ils étaiten aux responsabilités”, une allusion aux LR et aux socialistes, le ministre a résine que les hausges budgetaires accordées aux armées ont débuté dès le précédent quinquennat.
Inquiétudes de l’opposition
“Nos éléments militaires doivent rester sutenables pour nos finances publiques”, at-il aussi insistedé, alors que l’opposition entend contraindre le gouvernement à investi davantage pendent ce quinquennat.
M. Lecornu has also advanced that the investments are defined “in function of need” of the armies and “of the capacity of our industries to produce”.
Le texte doit permettre de modernizer la dissuasion nucléaire, d’ameliore le traitement des troupes, et aussi d’investir dans le cyber, le spatial et les fonds marins. Une trentaine de milliards doivent couvrir l’inflation.
But the LPM will also cause a delay in deliveries of several major equipment (armored Scorpion, Rafale aircraft, defense and intervention frigates…), which worries the opposition.
With AFP