{"id":13538,"date":"2025-07-13T18:04:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T18:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=13538"},"modified":"2025-07-13T18:04:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T18:04:06","slug":"macron-to-unveil-major-defence-plans-amid-russia-and-us-security-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=13538","title":{"rendered":"Macron to unveil major defence plans amid Russia and US security fears"},"content":{"rendered":"
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce major new defence targets on Sunday, citing heightened security threats from Russia and growing uncertainty over US support for Europe\u2019s defence.<\/p>\n

\u00c9lys\u00e9e officials said that despite France\u2019s budgetary constraints, Macron\u2019s address would include \u201cmajor\u201d announcements. They described the move as part of broader \u201cdefence efforts\u201d in response to an increasingly unstable global environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefence efforts must be made in the face of mounting threats and a disintegrating world order,\u201d a senior presidential aide said.<\/p>\n

The announcement follows growing concerns within France\u2019s defence establishment over what it views as a \u201cdurable\u201d threat posed by Russia and the potential weakening of the United States\u2019 commitment to European security.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Friday, General Thierry Burkhard, France\u2019s Chief of Defence Staff, warned that Russia now sees France as its \u201cmain adversary in Europe\u201d.<\/p>\n

Read More: How France, US and China treat Pakistan?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rank of European countries in tomorrow\u2019s world is being decided in Ukraine,\u201d Burkhard said, referring to Russia\u2019s invasion of its neighbour in 2022.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted the emerging risks of cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and terrorism.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Defence Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu told La Tribune that France must do more to ensure it can act independently.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our job to provide answers,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we want to depend on nobody tomorrow, we need to make a new effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Macron took office in 2017, France\u2019s defence budget has grown significantly\u2014from \u20ac32.2 billion to \u20ac50.5 billion today. The government plans to raise it further to \u20ac67 billion by 2030.<\/p>\n

However, the proposed increases come amid pressure from the European Commission for greater fiscal discipline. France\u2019s debt servicing alone is expected to cost \u20ac62 billion this year.<\/p>\n

Despite that, Prime Minister Fran\u00e7ois Bayrou has insisted that defence spending will be protected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe defence budget is sacrosanct,\u201d he said ahead of presenting the 2026 budget framework on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Keeping pace with NATO allies<\/p>\n

France\u2019s planned defence hikes follow a broader shift across NATO. Member states last month agreed to allocate at least 5% of their GDP to defence and security.<\/p>\n

Also Read: Pakistan, Russia sign protocol to revive Pakistan Steel Mills<\/p>\n

The UK has pledged to raise its defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and 3% by 2029. Germany is targeting \u20ac162 billion in defence spending by 2029, equivalent to 3.5% of its GDP. Poland is already spending 4.7% of GDP on its military.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery clearly, we need to revise our programming and strategy today, in light of the changing nature of risks,\u201d Macron said on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Lecornu recently outlined several urgent priorities for the French military, including air defence, ammunition stockpiles, space capabilities, and electronic warfare.<\/p>\n

He also warned of France falling behind in \u201cdisruptive technologies\u201d such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.<\/p>\n

Beyond the defence budget, Macron is expected to stress the importance of \u201cnational cohesion\u201d in a time of global uncertainty. \u00c9lys\u00e9e officials said the president may propose a mobilisation initiative aimed at involving more young people in national service.<\/p>\n

Young citizens should be given \u201can opportunity to serve,\u201d the officials added.<\/p>\n

Macron\u2019s speech is seen as a pivotal moment in France\u2019s evolving defence strategy as geopolitical tensions intensify.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce major new defence targets on Sunday, citing heightened security threats from Russia and growing uncertainty over US support for Europe\u2019s defence. \u00c9lys\u00e9e officials said that despite France\u2019s budgetary constraints, Macron\u2019s address would include \u201cmajor\u201d announcements. They described the move as part of broader \u201cdefence efforts\u201d in response […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13538\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}