Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced an increase in the defence budget “unprecedented over the past decade.” It will increase to more than 1.6 billion euros in 2018.
“We will next year increase in the budget that I will present the budget of the Armies of more than 1.6 billion euros. This effort will continue in 2019 and 2020 because the world we live in is dangerous, “ said the Prime Minister on BFM TV.
The announcement of Edouard Philippe embodies the promise of Emmanuel Macron to significantly increase the defense budget in order to reach 2% of GDP in 2025.
200 million less than announced
The figure is slightly lower with the previously mentioned by the Head of State and the Minister of the Army, which had reported an increase of 1.8 billion euros.
“From 2018, we will begin the increase of the budget of the Defense Ministry whose budget will increase to 34.2 billion euros (against 32.4 billion in 2017) of which 650 million euros in provisions for external operations” , said the head of State on 13 July.
Tuesday at the Summer University of Defense in Toulon, the Minister of the Armed Florence Parly had hailed the “major shift” that was the budget increase in 2018. “From 2016 to 2017, the budget was increased by 600 million, appreciable effort. 1.8 billion in 2018, three times more “, she had said.
The resignation of General De Villiers
The defence budget was at the heart of a controversy in the early summer, which led to the resignation of General Pierre de Villiers . “Rather than multiplying the statements undoubtedly martial but ultimately vain enough, we prefer to work in the field, and seriously” , said Edouard Philippe on BFM TV.
