On the eve of France's national holiday - Bastille Day, which will be celebrated in Paris today with the traditional military parade - President Emmanuel Macron announced to representatives of the French armed forces that a sharp increase in the state defense budget is coming, BTA writes.
The French president painted a gloomy picture of a world full of threats and announced a sharp increase in military spending during his traditional address to the armed forces, the "New York Times" writes. "Our freedom has never been so threatened", Macron stressed. "There are no more rules, the law of the strongest wins. We Europeans must ensure our own security," the French leader added.
Macron's speech represented the strongest statement yet from Paris that old partnerships, especially with President Donald Trump's America, have eroded, that Russia poses a major threat and that restraints on the use of force have fallen, the American publication commented.
Macron announced that France's military spending would reach 64 billion euros by 2027, when his second presidential term ends. Over the next two years, France's military budget will grow by 6.5 billion euros, the "New York Times" estimates. When Macron took office in 2017, France was spending 32.25 billion euros on defense, but to date the country's military budget still amounts to just 2% of its GDP. Last month, NATO allies agreed to to increase military spending by all 32 member states to 5% of their GDP, the American newspaper recalls.
Macron announced the increase in the defense budget at a difficult time for him, the "New York Times" also writes. His ability to shape domestic policy is limited by a deadlocked parliament, which may still try to block this move. Macron's grandiose projects in the field of international relations have generally been thwarted both in Ukraine, where France has emerged as a strong supporter of President Volodymyr Zelensky, and in the Middle East, the "New York Times" commented. Macron was angered by Trump's volatile foreign policy, the US leader's undisguised contempt for France's efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, personal insults and the White House's repeated threats to raise tariffs on Europe, the New York Times reported.
On Saturday, Macron expressed "very strong disapproval" of Trump's threat to impose a 30 percent tariff on European Union goods if a trade deal is not reached by August 1. The threat has added a poisonous note to ongoing negotiations between Washington and Brussels. Last month, Trump described Macron as a man who seeks media attention and is "always wrong," and the French leader has yet to comment on that statement, the newspaper reported. "New York Times".
Macron delivered his speech before NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte left for a two-day visit to the United States, writes the "Washington Post". In addition, last week the American president announced his plans to sell weapons to the alliance's member countries, which they could transfer to Ukraine, the publication recalls.
The Chief of the General Staff of the French Army, Thierry Burkart, said on Friday that Russia poses risks that extend far beyond Ukraine. For example, Russia disrupts the trajectories of satellites to jam or spy on them, participates in sabotage of underwater infrastructure facilities and conducts disinformation campaigns in France and Africa, Burkart noted, quoted by the "Washington Post". According to the French general, Russian submarines are entering the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and Russian warplanes frequently maneuver over the Black Sea, Syria, the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic.
Macron asked the Chief of the General Staff of the French Army to publicize the threats facing France in order to prepare the public for the increase in defense spending amid the tension over the country's public finances, commented the publication "Politico".
According to Macron, the new funds will not be obtained by taking on debt, but will be generated through "greater activity and more production". The French leader indicated that Prime Minister François Bayrou will set out details on Tuesday when presenting the main guidelines of the state budget for 2026, "Politico" notes. The French defense budget will increase by 3.5 billion euros in 2026. and by 3 billion euros in 2027, although Bayrou is expected to propose a reduction in overall spending of 40 billion euros, the publication added.
Macron says the EU should start borrowing jointly to boost regional defence, but other member states, including Germany, are opposed to the idea, the Financial Times reports. Germany has undertaken a massive increase in defence spending, which it will finance with additional government debt, the British newspaper recalls. Germany has the opportunity to make such a move, given that its public debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of 2024 was 62.5%, according to Eurostat. However, France’s ratio is 113%, making it the lowest-ranking EU country in terms of debt. Only Greece and Italy are behind it, the Financial Times adds.