France turns to a war economy

According to the international group Tasnim News Agency, the German newspaper “Frankfurter Rondschei” wrote in an article : On the path of “war economy”, the French government threatens the arms manufacturers.

In an emergency, the French government can exert influence on the arms companies. Elysée seems to be trying to shake the arms industry out of its slow pace.

Sebastien LeCorneau, the French defense minister, seems to be losing patience in this direction. He said in a recent press conference attended by French General Staff officials that the weapons factories of this country should work faster. According to him, this applies especially to artillery and ammunition.

Lecorneau also openly stated that he has the means to achieve this goal. The Fall 2023 Army Act, which spells out long-term military planning through 2030, explicitly allows for government takeovers and leverage over private companies. According to the law, this condition is included in the “current or foreseeable threat situation”. LeCorneau takes this as a matter of course because of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and, therefore, against Europe more broadly.

Minister of Defense In this situation, France said that, for the first time, it does not rule out resorting to confiscations or setting military priorities on civilians. Le Courneau firmly pointed to the army law that currently exists, as if he wanted to give more weight to his threat. According to him, therefore , if the confiscation order is effectively issued, there will be “no surprises”.

According to the law, the government can confiscate the stocks and means of production of the companies and force the relevant operations staff to take the necessary actions. This applies not only to the actual defense companies such as MBDA, Thales, Dassault and Nexter, but also to their paramilitary suppliers. In the meantime, Cedric Perrin, the head of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Policy Committee in the Senate, had to clarify that France “has not turned to a war economy” with this announcement. He emphasized: “We cannot talk about it as long as no demand is ordered.” However, in recent weeks, French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly used the term “war economy”. which has long been in use by the Russian government since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but without fully divulging the details. It is an attempt to shake up the defense industry from its current state. Currently, there is a shortage of air defense missiles of the “Aster” type in the French army, both for sending to Ukraine and for domestic needs. These defense weapons are produced in France and Italy by MBDA defense company. The current production period is more than three years.

More than a year ago, the French military ordered 200 “Aster” missiles worth 900 million euros. These missiles are scheduled to be delivered in 2026. Lecorno now wants it until the end of 2024. According to him, in the Red Sea, French ships lack such defense against Yemeni drones.

However, several parties, including Marine Le Pen’s right-wing populists, criticize the fact that France is a necessary tool for This effort does not have weapons. This week the Paris government was forced to announce an unexpected budget deficit of over 5.5%.

end of message/