French Prime Minister: France Will Add 8.5 Billion Euros in Arms Orders

[Global Times Special Correspondent in France Yu Chaofan, Global Times Reporter Du Tianqi] On the 26th, France International Radio reported that on the 25th local time, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that as part of the revision of the Military Planning Law (LPM), France will add a total of 8.5 billion euros in arms orders by 2030. In addition, the new version of the LPM also includes a new "National Security Alert" mechanism, which allows the government to bypass legal obstacles and accelerate decision-making when the country faces threats and circumstances require it. It is reported that the revision will be submitted to parliament for review in May to June.

"The urgent priority is clearly arms supply. We plan to add 8.5 billion euros in arms orders between 2026 and 2030, not including the 16 billion euros already allocated in the 2023 LPM," Lecornu stated during a debate in the National Assembly on the Middle East crisis. He also emphasized that the new law "will quadruple the funding for military ammunition." In February of this year, the French government officially announced the national budget for 2026, at which time it was announced that defense spending would increase by 6.5 billion euros.

According to reports, Lecornu also announced the establishment of a platform called "French Military Supplies," which will serve as a "wholesaler of military supplies" to meet the needs of the French armed forces, allies, and export customers, with funding sources including "national and private investors." He also announced a 300 million euro support plan for the dual-use military supplies industry. On the 26th local time, Lecornu plans to meet with several ministers to discuss issues related to "wartime economy."

France International Radio reported that the new version of the LPM also includes a new "National Security Alert" mechanism. Lecornu explained that this new mechanism is designed to allow exceptions to existing regulations when the country faces serious threats (for example, to strengthen the security alert range of sensitive locations for the storage of ammunition and fuel), and even to deploy armed forces domestically (for example, to accelerate the construction of more camps and logistical infrastructure, as well as to exempt heavy trucks from relevant traffic regulations to improve military mobility).