Latest news with #BastilleDayParade
Ya Libnan
2 days ago
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
'Freedom has a price tag' France's Macron declares as he calls for hiking defense spending
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to army leaders at Hôtel de Brienne in Paris on July 13, 2025, on the eve of the annual Bastille Day Parade in the French capital. Prime Minister François Bayrou is pictured to the left. © Ludovic Marin, AFP President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called for a substantial rise in France's defence spending over the next two years, citing imminent threats, particularly Russia. 'To be free in this world, we need to be feared,' the French leader said, noting he wants to see a €3.5 billion hike in defence spending in 2026, and by another €3 billion in 2027. Lawmakers will need to approve such measures. French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to army leaders at Hôtel de Brienne in Paris on July 13, 2025, on the eve of the annual Bastille Day Parade in the French capital. Prime Minister François Bayrou is pictured to the left. © Ludovic Marin, AFP Paris- French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday announced 6.5 billion euros in extra military spending in the next two years because of new and unprecedented threats, from Russia to terrorists to online attacks. The French leader laid out the spending plans in a sweeping speech calling for intensified efforts to protect Europe. He said France will aim to spend 64 billion euros in annual defense spending in 2027, the last year of his second term; that would be double the 32 billion in annual spending when he became president in 2017. ″Since 1945, freedom has never been so threatened, and never so seriously,' Macron said in the French president's traditional speech to the military on the eve of the Bastille Day national holiday. ″To be free in this world we must be feared. To be feared we must be powerful,' he said. He insisted that France can find the money to spend more on the military even as it tries to bring down massive debts. Conservative and far-right parties have supported greater defense spending, while left-wing parties accuse the government of sacrificing hard-won social welfare benefits for military spending. 'The nation needs you,' he said. 'Every French man and woman must be cognitive of the threat around us.' 'We all need to make sacrifices. Freedom has a price tag.' Europe is in danger because of Russia's war in Ukraine and wars in the Middle East, and because ″the United States have added a form of uncertainty,″ Macron said. He also cited online disinformation campaigns by unnamed foreign governments and propaganda operations targeting children, in ″the screen era.″ Macron also ordered France's top military and defense officials to start a ″strategic dialogue″ with European partners about the role that France's nuclear arsenal could play in protecting Europe. France and Britain agreed recently to cooperate on nuclear arsenal issues. (FRANCE 24 with AP)
The Star
2 days ago
- Business
- The Star
France's Macron announces plan to accelerate military spending
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to army leaders, on the eve of the annual Bastille Day Parade in the French capital, at l'Hotel de Brienne in Paris, France July 13, 2025. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS PARIS (Reuters) -President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday announced a plan to push forward France's defence spending, pledging to double the military budget by 2027 - three years earlier than originally planned - in response to a complex geopolitical moment. France had aimed to double its defence budget from 2017 levels by 2030. However, Macron pledged to reach the target by 2027. A military budget that stood at 32 billion euros ($37.40 billion) in 2017 will rise to 64 billion euros by 2027, with an additional 3.5 billion euros allocated for next year and another 3 billion euros in 2027. He said the accelerated spending, which comes as France is struggling to make 40 billion euros in savings in its 2026 budget, would be paid for by increased economic activity. "Our military independence is inseparable from our financial independence," he said. "This will be financed through more activity and more production." He said Prime Minister Francois Bayrou would provide more details in an address on his plans for the 2026 budget on Tuesday. Bayrou is facing an uphill battle to steer billions of euros worth of savings through a bitterly divided parliament, as France strives to lower its budget deficit to keep EU bean-counters and foreign investors at bay. ($1 = 0.8555 euros) (Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter and Mimosa SpencerEditing by Ros Russell)
