“Our times require us to put the fighter back at the heart of our attention” : President Emmanuel Macron presented his wishes, Friday January 19 in Cherbourg (Manche), to the French armies. During his speech from the naval basethe Head of State reaffirmed “the principles that guide France’s support for Ukraine”where he plans to go in February for the second time since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. “Our duty is to make Russian victory impossible. » “A Russian victory is the end of European security,” he added.
“We will continue to help the Ukrainians, pragmatically and comprehensively,” insisted the Head of State, specifying that France would pursue “by equipping them in all the areas that are essential to them: artillery, ground-to-air defense and remote strikes”.
“We must amplify the transformation that has begun” in order to respond more quickly to Ukraine’s needs in the war against Russia, the head of state told the industrialists. “I ask each boss to be totally focused on production and supply issues. We must never again be satisfied with production deadlines that extend over several years”he insisted.
“What is expected of everyone is ultimately to gain in speed, in volume, in innovation”argued Mr. Macron who pleads for “an industry in war economy mode” since February 2022 and the start of the war in Ukraine.
The Head of State notably mentioned the “comfortable years” which, sometimes, caused “a form of satisfied numbness which allowed us to maintain a very high level of quality, very high but expensive, costly with small flows, with small innovation”. But “this world no longer allows it”he argued.
The president expressed satisfaction with the improvement in production rates of the Caesar cannon, the Mistral missile, the Rafale plane and Thales radars. But “others were slow to understand the change in strategic context, the importance of being able to deliver quickly” And “have, for a year and a half, sometimes missed contracts and I regret it”he slipped.
“Management by deadlines is vital”insisted Mr. Macron, calling not to “no longer count in years but in months and weeks”. “Choice and cost control [sont] an imperative “he also argued, invoking the “citizen’s duty” which is the responsibility of everyone because “each euro of the LPM [loi de programmation militaire] must be useful.
The universal national service will experience a significant boost
Paris, criticized abroad for the weakness of its support, increased its announcements of military aid to Kiev this week: around forty long-range Scalp missiles first, around fifty AASM bombs (modular air-ground weapons) per month for a year thereafter, an increase in the production of 155 millimeter shells, and the financing of twelve additional Caesar cannons.
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France is “finalizing a deal” important security agreement with Ukraine of the type of that concluded on January 12 between the United Kingdom and Ukraine over ten years, declared the Head of State on Tuesday during his press conference.
In line with “rearmament” of the company, mentioned Tuesday during its press conferencethe President of the Republic also affirmed in Cherbourg that “the universal national service will experience a significant boost in the coming weeks. It’s an imperative”. “To consolidate a society determined to face its destiny in a world and in a society where centrifugal forces are strengthening,” he added.
A shortage of around 2,000 people in the army
The last French soldiers left Niger on December 22, putting an end to ten years of anti-jihadist operation in the Sahel, after being pushed out in Mali and Burkina Faso by hostile juntas. Since then, the armies, regularly called upon to ” transform “are waiting for prospects to reorient their missions in Africa, but also towards other regions: the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, the Arab-Persian Gulf or eastern Europe.
Since the war between Israel and Hamas set the Middle East ablaze, a helicopter carrier, the Diksmuide, was reconditioned in a military hospital. Anchored in Egyptian waters, he treated “more than a thousand” of Gazan civilians injured by Israeli bombings on Gaza, according to Mr. Macron.
The French navy also distinguished itself on December 9, by firing missiles for the first time in ” self-defense “ in the Red Sea, facing attacks from Yemeni Houthi rebels who claim to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. Several European countries, led by France and Italy, are in discussions to send a European mission to the area, to protect this crucial sea route for Europe’s economic security.
The armies will also be in great demand in 2024 for the Olympic Games which will mobilize at least 15,000 soldiers this summer. They are looking for a solution to face retention and recruitment difficulties, notably a shortage of around 2,000 people in the army.
Emmanuel Macron had already gone to Cherbourg in 2019 to officially launch the Suffrenthe first in a series of six new nuclear attack submarines (SNA), more discreet and more heavily armed, considered symbols of France’s strategic independence.