Latest news with #ThierryBurkhard
France 24
7 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Macron appoints military advisor as new army chief
Fabien Mandon, a 55-year-old air force general and former Mirage fighter jet pilot, takes over from Thierry Burkhard. The appointment of Mandon, who has extensive combat experience, comes after Macron last week called for a boost in France's defence spending, citing Russia as a threat for all of Europe. Macron said that "if you want be feared you must be powerful" and urged "mobilisation" by all government departments. "I have every confidence in General Fabien Mandon," Macron said on X, adding he would "guide our forces in the face of major challenges". Lecornu said Mandon took on the job in the context of "an increasingly demanding security environment". Until Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, France's armed forces were mainly focused on international missions and asymmetric warfare against non-state actors, such as jihadist groups in Africa's Sahel. Over the past three years, Burkhard has overseen a strategic shift to include the possibility of high-intensity war between states. Mandon's career includes several foreign deployments, including in the Central African Republic, Chad, and Tajikistan, from where he flew missions in Afghanistan. "I killed in Afghanistan. And I know whom I killed: Taliban. I have the soul of a fighter," he recently told French magazine L'Express. Mandon also served temporarily as commander at the Avord Air Base, where nuclear-capable fighter jets are stationed. © 2025 AFP
Arab News
21-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
France a key player in Europe's rise in global defense market
On the eve of Bastille Day, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a major strengthening of France's defense forces, stressing the need for the country to become the world's leading military power, capable of acting independently amid mounting global threats. At the core of this pivot lies a stark admission: France is falling behind. While Russia and China are rapidly advancing in emerging technologies, ranging from artificial intelligence and drone warfare to space, cyber and quantum capabilities, France currently maintains its defense spending at about 2 percent of gross domestic product, well below NATO's new 3.5 percent benchmark. However, it remains the world's second-largest arms exporter, holding 9.6 percent of the global market share, a position largely sustained by strong demand from its NATO allies and Eastern European partners. Now, Macron has committed to an unprecedented budgetary increase. An additional €6.5 billion ($7.5 billion) will be injected into defense spending over the next two years, bringing the total to €64 billion in 2027, double what the military received when Macron first entered office in 2017. This surge follows a scale-up in production of radars, Mistral and Aster missiles, Caesar howitzers and Rafale fighter jets. For France's strategic elite, this investment is also political. Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Thierry Burkhard recently declared France to be Moscow's priority target. And Macron is betting on a renewed defense consensus to deflect criticism of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's contentious austerity plan, which is aimed at recovering €40 billion. This year's Bastille Day parade showcased France's heightened military ambitions with a broader array of weaponry and troops Zaid M. Belbagi The message was on full display during this year's Bastille Day military parade, which showcased France's heightened military ambitions with a broader array of weaponry and troops. The parade also underscored European solidarity, as it featured Swiss F/A-18s and Belgian F-16s flying alongside French forces. The message was clear: European airpower must be interoperable, united and ready. France's 2025 National Strategic Review echoes this vision, calling for a 'wartime economy' and greater European defense sovereignty, particularly through joint procurement and production funding within the European Defence Technology Industrial Base. As outlined in the March 2025 European Defence White Paper, France and Germany aim to lead an EU-wide rearmament push. Shared investment in scalable capabilities is designed to optimize both cost-efficiency and industrial output. Landmark projects like the French-German Future Combat Air System fighter program and the Main Ground Combat System tank initiative have now been joined by German-British collaborations on Boxer armored vehicles and Typhoon jets, offering a glimpse into the kind of coordinated military-industrial momentum that Europe's defense ambitions increasingly rely on. Yet this internal consolidation has come with geopolitical trade-offs. While France maintains its strategic foothold in Djibouti, it has scaled back its military footprint across Africa under Macron, having officially withdrawn from its posts in Senegal this month, alongside earlier departures from Ivory Coast, Gabon, Chad and Niger. These exits reflect both waning French influence and the rise of anti-French sentiment driven by stronger demands for national sovereignty across the continent. In response, Paris is shifting its focus eastward. The Middle East and North Africa region now forms the southern flank of Europe's security arc, a strategic frontier less shaped by Washington's hand and increasingly central to European defense planning. France, like Germany and the UK, has moved to deepen ties across the Gulf and North Africa. Today, it conducts regular joint exercises and maintains close counterterrorism cooperation with the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco. Since 2009, France has maintained a robust military presence in the UAE, running air, naval and land bases. Abu Dhabi's €16 billion acquisition of 80 Rafale aircraft from Dassault Aviation in 2021 marked a significant strengthening of this partnership. The deal elevated their industrial cooperation and expanded France's deployment in the region, with 800 troops supporting, among other things, training initiatives on Emirati soil. Diplomatic activity has intensified during Macron's second term. In December last year, the French president made a state visit to Riyadh, following the emir of Qatar's official visit to Paris in February 2024. Just last month, Paris hosted the third France-Qatar Strategic Dialogue, a forum that reaffirmed the two nations' mutual commitment to deeper defense and security cooperation. These developments signal a decisive reorientation of France's security architecture toward the Mediterranean arc Zaid M. Belbagi France's National Strategic Review confirms plans to further reinforce partnerships with key MENA states, including Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. These countries are no longer regarded merely as clients but increasingly as co-producers of regional stability. In a notable example, Macron welcomed UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to Paris in February for a working dinner centered on joint projects valued at approximately €50 billion. Among these, Emirati artificial intelligence companies are set to build Europe's largest AI campus in France, anchored by a data center with a capacity of up to 1 gigawatt. France's maritime security initiatives are also expanding. Since February 2024, Paris has led Operation Aspides, the EU's naval mission protecting Red Sea shipping routes from Houthi attacks. France also plays a critical role in the Mediterranean, enforcing the arms embargo on Libya under the EU's Operation Irini and carrying out joint naval maneuvers with Egypt and Morocco. While advancing its Euro-MENA posture, Paris continues to underline the importance of strategic ties with both the US and Israel, recognizing their central roles in shaping the region's defense dynamics. As such, these developments signal a decisive reorientation of France's security architecture toward the Mediterranean arc. As Russian aggression intensifies and tensions escalate across the Middle East, especially involving Iran, France is actively working to shape a Euro-MENA security order. In this emerging landscape, partners like Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE and Qatar are no longer seen simply as arms buyers. They are becoming equal stakeholders in a shared pursuit of strategic autonomy, shaped by joint production, collective deterrence and a more balanced diplomatic order. Amid Germany's rearmament and France's assertive defense agenda, Europe is stepping up as a rising force in the global defense market. This shift not only opens new avenues for MENA countries to deepen security and defense partnerships with European powers, but also raises important questions about the future of their long-standing cooperation with global heavyweights like the US, China and Russia — countries that have long held dominant military footprints in the region. As the balance of power evolves, so too does the shape of strategic alliances across the Middle East.
Russia Today
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
French general's Putin claim debunked
France's top military officer falsely claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin labeled the country as Moscow's main adversary in Europe, French media have reported. General Thierry Burkhard, France's chief of the defense staff, claimed on Friday that Russia considers France its 'main adversary' on the continent, citing Paris' military support for Ukraine. 'It was Putin who said this,' Burkhard declared to reporters. Jean-Dominique Merchet of L'Opinion newspaper was among the first to challenge the claim. He said on social media that he had contacted the General Staff and was told Burkhard's remarks were a 'turn of phrase' and were not based on an actual statement by the Russian leader. Instead, the military referred to a Russian public opinion poll conducted by state pollster VTsIOM in April, which found that 45% of respondents viewed France as having tense or hostile relations with Russia – up sharply from previous years. A separate survey by Russia's independent Levada Center in May showed Germany topping the list of countries perceived as hostile, with France not featuring among the top five. Only 32% of respondents named France as hostile in that poll. Broadcaster TF1 also reported on Monday that it could find no record of Putin ever making such a statement. Western officials and media have often been criticized for misquoting or oversimplifying Putin's statements, such as his 2005 remark describing the collapse of the Soviet Union as 'the greatest geopolitical catastrophe' of the 20th century – frequently interpreted as a desire to restore the USSR. Putin was describing the 'drama of the Russian people' as many Russians found themselves living on foreign soil as ethnic minorities. In a 2010 interview, Putin clarified further: 'Anyone who wants to rebuild [the USSR] has no head.' France has advocated for stronger EU defense capabilities in recent years, while Moscow has accused the bloc of exaggerating a Russian threat to justify increased military spending.
Daily Tribune
14-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
Macron to raise French defence targets, citing Russia threat
President Emmanuel Macron is to set new French defence targets in the face of a menacing Russia and a potential United States disengagement from Europe, his office said. 'Defence efforts' must be made in the face of mounting threats and a disintegrating world order, Elysee officials said ahead of the president's 7:00 pm (1700 GMT) speech to the armed forces, traditionally held on the eve of France's national Bastille Day holiday. Despite France's difficult budgetary situation, the president's announcements will be 'major,' they said. French military and security officials have been warning of global threats weighing on France, with Defence Chief of Staff Thierry Burkhard saying on Friday that Russia posed a 'durable' threat to Europe and that the 'rank of European countries in tomorrow's world' was being decided in Ukraine, invaded by Russia in 2022. Russia currently views France as its 'main adversary in Europe,' Burkhard said. He also warned of the consequences of a diminished US commitment to Europe, along with cyber threats, disinformation campaigns, and the risk of terror attacks. 'We have to take account of the fact that there has been a change in strategic parameters,' he said. On Sunday, Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu weighed in, telling the La Tribune weekly newspaper that 'it's our job to provide answers.' France needed to make 'a new effort' if it wanted to 'depend on nobody' in the future, the minister said. France's defence budget has already increased sharply since Macron took power, rising from 32.2 billion euros ($37.6 billion at current rates) in 2017 to 50.5 billion currently, and is projected to reach 67 billion euros in 2030. Several NATO countries are boosting their military spending, after the alliance's members agreed last month to spend five percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on security.
LeMonde
14-07-2025
- Business
- LeMonde
France: When defense imperatives meet budgetary realities
The French president's speech to the armed forces on Sunday, July 14 was heavily anticipated in the media: first by an unprecedented press conference from the chief of the armed forces, General Thierry Burkhard, on July 11, and then by an interview with the minister of the armed forces, Sébastien Lecornu, in financial newspaper La Tribune Dimanche on July 12. Emmanuel Macron's address also has particular significance given the context: European rearmament in the face of a world increasingly defined by power struggles and the collapse of international law. As befits the only European nuclear power alongside the United Kingdom, France intends to play its part in this rearmament. Macron highlighted the leadership Paris has shown in recent initiatives to confront the Russian threat, notably alongside London, including in the area of nuclear deterrence. He also strongly emphasized the need for a European dimension to this essential defense effort, arguing for a European pillar within NATO. Facing "an American ally signaling its disengagement," as he acknowledged, "we Europeans now have to ensure our security on our own." Yet, if "to be free, you must be feared," Macron also affirmed that "to be feared, you must be powerful." And power comes at a cost. This is the fundamental limitation of the exercise Macron has pursued since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. His assessment of geostrategic threats is entirely accurate, and his determination to organize France's defense within a European framework is unquestionable. However, France's excessive debt is a clear obstacle to the ambitions he has laid out. Fuse position Even with the significant increase Macron announced Sunday, which will raise the military budget to €64 billion by 2027, France remains well short of the €100 billion figure that Lecornu described in March as the "ideal fighting weight" for meeting new challenges by 2030. For some, the additional €6.5 billion announced for the next two years is not enough. For others, it represents a heavy burden. Prime Minister François Bayrou must take this into account as he finalizes the adjustment plan, which he will present to the press on Tuesday, aiming to reduce the public deficit from 5.8% of gross domestic product this year to 4.6% by 2026. To prevent the appearance of civilian spending sacrificed in favor of defense, the French presidency and prime minister's office jointly stated that the increases in military spending will be funded by "more activity and more production." In addition to predictable cuts in state spending, social security and local government budgets, Bayrou's announcements are expected to include new reforms affecting unemployment insurance and the labor market, with no guarantee they will be any better received than previous budget-saving measures. Every adjustment made in the name of "working more" has been vigorously contested so far. In his address on March 5, Macron warned that facing the world's brutality demanded "reforms" and "courage." Despite growing public awareness, his warning has had little effect on the country's various political forces so far. Cast in the uncomfortable position of a fuse, Bayrou will learn after his announcements on Tuesday whether elected officials have changed their stance, or whether a gap remains between what is happening on the international stage and what is unfolding on the domestic scene.
