France plans to direct a large share of its push to boost defence spending toward drones and munitions as it races to adapt to heightened threats and the risk of the US withdrawing military capabilities from Europe.
A revised multi-year spending bill presented to cabinet on Wednesday aims to deliver President Emmanuel Macron’s pledge of an additional €36 billion in outlays over five years starting in 2026. Of that increase, €8.5 billion is earmarked for a 54% increase in munitions spending and €2 billion for drones.
“We are living in a time of profound change that calls for a toughening of our model,” defence minister Catherine Vautrin said in a presentation of the bill. “The deep and abrupt shift in international balances now compels us to move faster and act more forcefully.”
Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have underscored how quickly munitions are exhausted during high-intensity combat, pushing European governments to invest more. The shift gained new urgency following the reelection of Donald Trump, whose “America First” rhetoric has fuelled fears that Washington may withdraw from Nato or weaken its security guarantees for the continent.
All Nato members except Spain have agreed to raise their spending to at least 3.5% of gross domestic product on core defence and an extra 1.5% on defence-related spending such as infrastructure and cybersecurity by 2035.
Under France’s revised defence budget, spending would reach 2.5% of GDP in 2030. It said outlays will have doubled in nominal terms during Macron’s decade in power from 2017 to 2027.
While the plan extends through to 2030, its execution faces political hurdles as Macron’s successor could draft a new framework to adjust the spending trajectory. The next French presidential election is expected to take place in April 2027.
“It is now up to Parliament to debate this ambition, to enrich it, to amend it, and to vote on it,” Vautrin said.