The candidate of the Republicans at the Elysée made his proposal after the head of state said he wanted to “amplify” military investment. She also warned against the “chin” aimed at Vladimir Putin.
Le Monde with AFP
These are some percentage points worth billions. Valérie Pécresse proposed, Thursday, March 3, to bring the defense budget beyond 2% of the gross domestic product, to 65 billion euros in 2030. “Respect for the LPM [current military programming law] allows reaching 50 billion euros in budget in 2025. I wish to bring this budget to 65 billion in 2030, far beyond the 2% of GDP, which means a total of an additional effort of 108 billion, “said the Party candidate Republicans at the Elysee, at a press conference. “Throughout the 1960s and 1970, the share of the defense budget exceeded 3% of GDP, and never hindered growth, on the contrary,” she argues.
In his speech on the war in Ukraine, Wednesday night, Emmanuel Macron announced, without moving a figure, that France “would amplify the investment in his defense, decided in 2017” and continue “his strategy of economic independence ” The current budget of the Ministry of the Armies must again grow in 2022, to 40.9 billion euros (+ 4.3%), in accordance with the 2019-2025 military programming law, which provides for a sharp rise in budget after years of decline. But the largest increases (+ 3 billion per year) are planned from 2023.
“Menton shots”
Valérie Pécresse also desired a “strong European pillar” in terms of defense, greeting “the European burst facing the Ukrainian situation [which] opens a way”. But she criticized “the damage that President Macron caused by speaking of NATO in” cerebral death “” late 2019 – it was in a Interview with The Economist – , defending an alliance that “does not mean allegiance” and must respect “the sovereignty of the states”.
The candidate also had an arrow for Bruno the mayor, who said, Wednesday morning, that France and the European Union had “delivering a total economic and financial war to Russia”, about which the Minister of the ‘Economy had quickly returned, to temper them. Valérie Pécresse warned against a “menton blowing policy”: “When we talk about atomic weapon by evoking the exclusion of Russia from the SWIFT system [the international operator between the banks], or economic war that aims to destroy the Russian economy, I say, Attention! Let’s avoid the postures that lead to climbing. “
“The war in Ukraine comes reminding us that peace should never be considered as acquired, even in Europe,” added me pecresse, in a gravity. “This time, these are two large countries, members of the European family, one of which is a nuclear power”. Condemning again “the military invasion”, she has castigated “all those who have defended for years his political, [who] are irresponsible and prejudice to our national interests”, in an allusion to his opponents of extreme right , Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour.