Deputies and senators reach an agreement on the military programming law

The negotiations were intense between the government and the Senate, with a majority on the right. Deputies and senators found a compromise, Monday, July 10, on the government’s military programming project, in particular on the envelope allocated to the armies from this five-year term, paving the way for a final adoption of the text on Thursday.

Widely adopted at first reading in the National Assembly on June 7, the bill must thus be definitively validated before July 14, as the executive hoped. The Minister for the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, hailed Twitter “the commitment of parliamentarians”.

This military programming bill (LPM) plans to devote 413.3 billion euros over seven years (2024-2030) to the armies, a 40% increase compared to the previous period, and which would gradually make the military budget the first of the State (68.9 billion in 2030).

The executive leaves a slate

The oppositions, particularly on the left, denounce “announcement effects”, with a significant portion due to inflation (about thirty billion), and carryovers of charges from the previous LPM. Above all, the Senate and the opposition deputies criticize the executive for leaving too large a slate after the end of the five-year term in 2027.

The senators had significantly accelerated the pace compared to the government text: + 3.5 billion euros in 2024, then + 3.6 billion every year. Senators and deputies finally agreed on + 3.3 billion euros in 2024 and 2025, then + 3.2 billion in 2026 and 2027, and finally + 3.5 billion per year until 2030.

Some 2.3 billion euros of additional expenditure are thus programmed until 2027, and must be used for “maintenance in operational condition” of material and “operational readiness” of troops, explained to Agence France-Presse the rapporteur for the Assembly, Jean-Michel Jacques (Renaissance).

Renewing the nuclear deterrent arsenal

The rapporteur in the Senate, Christian Cambon (Les Républicains), approved “the acceleration effect expected by our armies”, his group also welcoming the possibility of mobilizing sums “collected as part of the booklet A” to finance the defense industry.

“The Senate has shown budgetary orthodoxy”regrets the deputy La France insoumise Aurélien Saintoul, criticizing the fact that part of the envelope (13.3 billion euros) is not precisely marked.

This LPM must also make it possible to renew the expensive arsenal of nuclear deterrence, devoted in “keystone” of national defence, and improve the treatment of troops and their families.

The LPM, which will be updated in 2027 in Parliament, intends “to modernize” the military apparatus through major investments in space, cyber, drones, etc. On the other hand, it records postponements of deliveries of equipment. The armies will receive over the period fewer tanks, Rafale or frigates for example than what was planned in the previous LPM.

Strict control of soldiers and civilians who have performed sensitive functions, and wish to work for a State or a foreign company, will be established. The requisition powers of the State in the field of defense will also be extended.

The text also strengthens the powers of the National Agency for the Security of Information Systems, despite serious concerns on the left for the protection of public freedoms.