It was on the naval base of Cherbourg (Manche), in a bare hangar, that Emmanuel Macron carried out his traditional ceremony of greetings to the armies on Friday January 19. For this meeting, which constitutes, with July 14, one of his two major solemn meetings of the year with military circles, the Head of State has however decided to be abrasive. Less with the forces than with the defense industrialists, to whom he devoted a good part of his speech, distributing good and bad points.
This year, “France has a meeting with its defense industry”, declared Mr. Macron. An industry “in war economy mode”as he officially launched it, since mid-2022, which must not remain “just a slogan”he insisted. “We must never again be satisfied with production deadlines that extend over several years”notably underlined the head of state, castigating years “comfortable” which sometimes caused “a form of numbness”where the industry relied too much, according to him, on state orders. “This world no longer allows it”, he asserted.
For many months, large defense industry groups have been accustomed to impatient tirades from the executive. Privately, many consider them unjustified given the specificities of the sector. But, six months after the adoption, in July, of the military programming law (LPM), which provides more than 400 billion euros for the armies, by 2030 – an unprecedented budget –, Emmanuel Macron renewed the pressure, this Friday, in a strong way. “We are still in fits and starts, even communication”criticized the president.
Push exports
Faced with the multiplication of crisis theaters, Mr. Macron recalled that it was now necessary, according to him, “respond in a short loop to the needs of our armies as well as those of our allies and partners who are on the front today”. Concerning Ukraine, the first concerned, aid will therefore continue “pragmatic and concrete way”, “in all essential areas”, insisted the head of state. A direct allusion to the announcement, on January 18, of a new coalition of Western countries, under French and American leadership, to coordinate the joint purchase of artillery equipment for kyiv.
While Paris seeks to push, in this context, its exports, in particular of Caesar cannons, the president congratulated the reduction in the delivery time of its flagship equipment, halved since the start of the war – it went from thirty to fifteen months. Same thing for MBDA’s short-range Mistral missiles, whose export times have gone from twenty-four to fifteen months, or even for certain Thales radars, from eighteen to six months. But “others [sociétés] were slow to understand the change in strategic context (…) and sometimes missed contracts, and I regret it”, said Mr. Macron.
You have 45% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.