French Parliament Reviews New Military Planning Bill

According to a report by Reference News Network on May 10, Agence France-Presse reported on May 4 that the French National Assembly began reviewing a bill on the 4th aimed at updating the military planning law passed in 2023. As the flames of war reignite in Europe and conflicts rage in the Middle East, the original plan has proven inadequate.

The bill outlines the overall direction and means for the French military by 2030, proposing an additional investment of 36 billion euros, bringing the total budget investment to 449 billion euros before 2030.

French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu, during the debate in the National Assembly, cited the "lessons learned from the Ukrainian battlefield and the situation in the Middle East" to advocate for the "urgency of accelerating and restructuring military efforts."

According to this planned path, by 2030, France's annual military budget will reach 76.3 billion euros (2.5% of GDP). However, this proposal still needs to be confirmed or adjusted during the government budget debates each autumn and will be impacted by the next presidential election.

Although the bill does not plan to change the structure of the military, it focuses on investment projects deemed essential, such as ammunition and drones.

In addition to the investment component, the bill also introduces several new initiatives. For example, the bill intends to establish a new "national security alert status," allowing for the circumvention of multiple regulations (such as construction, requisition, or environmental protection) when the nation faces a "serious threat." Another provision allows certain operational units, including airports, to use drone jamming or suppression devices.

Furthermore, there are measures concerning the new volunteer military service system that began recruitment in January this year. This project will cost 2.3 billion euros over five years, which the left considers unrealistic, viewing it as an attempt to cover up the failure of the "universal conscription system" initiated in 2019 but never fully implemented.

The new bill also proposes allowing intelligence agencies to use algorithms to track and utilize data from network connections, particularly for "defense purposes" and to combat "organized crime," drug or arms trafficking.

The French National Assembly is scheduled to hold a formal vote in mid-May. Subsequently, the bill will be submitted to the Senate for review in early June. (Translated by Pan Ge Ping)