Paris, July 13, 2026 – The Europe Today: French President Emmanuel Macron has announced plans to double France’s defense budget by the end of his second presidential term, setting a target of €64 billion (approximately $74.8 billion) in 2027, three years ahead of the original 2030 goal.
Speaking during his annual address to the French armed forces ahead of Bastille Day, Macron said he had directed the government to accelerate defense spending in response to an increasingly complex global security environment.
“I asked that we accelerate this defense effort further and set the objective of bringing forward to 2027 the ambition initially planned for 2030 of reaching a budget of €64 billion for our armed forces,” Macron said.
He noted that the planned increase would mean France’s defense budget had doubled over the past decade, emphasizing that the government had fulfilled its defense spending commitments “every year, down to the last euro.”
Macron also said France had already achieved its earlier pledge to raise defense expenditure to 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, adding that sustained investment had strengthened the country’s military before the outbreak of several major international crises.
Referring to the war in Ukraine, instability across the Sahel region and rising tensions in the Middle East, the French president said France had begun rebuilding its military capabilities even before “war returned to European soil.”
He stressed that continued military modernization was essential to maintain support for Ukraine while addressing Europe’s evolving security challenges.
Macron acknowledged that France had already launched what he described as a “war economy” to boost defense production but said additional public and private investment would be required to further enhance the country’s defense capabilities.
The French president also reaffirmed his commitment to stronger European defense cooperation, saying Europe must become increasingly capable of assuming greater responsibility for its own security.
Commenting on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS)—the joint fighter aircraft project involving France, Germany and Spain—Macron expressed deep regret over the program’s setbacks and urged European partners to continue pursuing collaborative defense initiatives.
