The government presents this Monday its draft budget for 2021. Designed to face the health and economic crisis of Covid-19, it presents major spending efforts in several areas.
Defense, which was more used to seeing its credits cut back from the promises, on the contrary benefits from a record budget.
Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces, explains this exclusively for the Parisian-Today in France.
Despite the crisis, the army budget continues to increase this year?
FLORENCE PARLY.
We are exactly on the path of the 2019-2025 military programming law, for the third year in a row: the maintenance of this effort is unprecedented, with approximately 1.7 billion euros additional each year.
In total and cumulatively, the armies have 18 billion euros more than they had in 2017. This considerable effort responds to a double observation, that of an increasingly dangerous world, and of state of our armies in 2017.
How much is this budget?
39.2 billion euros is the second state budget.
With a record amount of 22 billion in spending to invest in the modernization of equipment or infrastructure.
Is it really a priority to devote so much to defense in the midst of a crisis?
It had become essential to repair our armies after years of underinvestment and the rise in tensions around Europe shows the need for it.
But let's not forget that we have a recovery plan that represents 100 billion euros.
We must see the army budget as the respect of a commitment of the President of the Republic and as a tool in the service of the revival of our economy.
We will have invested in total, since 2019 and by 2023, 110 billion euros, the amount of the recovery plan.
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Where will this money go?
It is one of the major tools of our sovereignty.
The crisis revealed excessive dependencies in some areas.
If there is one sector where France has sought to preserve its autonomy, it is that of defense technologies.
When you invest a euro in defense, it's almost a euro in companies and for jobs in France.
We buy very little equipment from abroad.
For example ?
Europe did not take the drones train, we had to buy them from the United States, the Reaper which are used in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel.
But we should soon be able to have an armed and European observation drone, between Spaniards, Italians, Germans and French.
These four countries should announce the green light for its manufacture in the coming weeks.
"When you invest one euro in defense, it's almost one euro in companies and for jobs in France," says Florence Parly.
LP / Olivier Corsan
What in this budget strengthens sovereignty?
We are continuing to invest in the space sector to which the military programming law devotes more than 4 billion euros.
This is a key sector: to communicate, geolocate and observe the terrain, our armies need satellites.
In 2020, we launched a new generation observation satellite named CSO, a second will be delivered in 2021, as well as the first element of the new generation of military telecommunications satellites.
For the Army, we continue to invest in the Scorpion program, a system of interconnected armored vehicles.
That is, what does this change from the old front armored vehicles (VABs)?
Seen from the outside nothing or almost nothing, they are more robust, but inside, everything changes!
This interconnection allows data transmission in real time, gives an instantaneous and complete view of the terrain and the position of the enemies to all the units participating in the combat.
We will thus receive in 2020, equipped with this Scorpion system, around one hundred Griffon armored vehicles and 157 in 2021, as well as the first Jaguars for armed reconnaissance.
For the Air Force, we continue to renew refueling planes with three more Airbus A330 MRTT Phénix, which replace the old Boeing, some of which dated from the early 1960s. These same Airbuses carried out medical evacuations during the crisis of Covid-19.
The navy, very involved in the eastern Mediterranean, will also be strengthened?
We are continuing the frigate renewal program, we will have a total of 8 multi-mission frigates by 2022. Between 2012 and 2022 we will have benefited from 8 new generation frigates, instead of two in the previous decade.
We change gear.
Can the submarine "Perle" burnt down in Toulon in June be repaired?
It will be moved to Cherbourg to complete the expertise and allow us to decide, within a few weeks, whether to invest to repair it or to consider a replacement solution.
Florence Parly announces the continuation of investments in the space sector.
LP / Olivier Corsan
In terms of jobs, what does this budget imply for French industry?
There are 200,000 jobs related to the defense industry in our country spread over 4,000 companies that irrigate the entire national territory.
By continuing to invest as we do, we are sustaining their activity.
Is there a section for recruitments?
We will be the first recruiter in France in 2021, we will hire 26,700 young people, some highly qualified, others without qualifications.
It's a record.
And in times of economic downturn, that's essential.
In addition, there will be 300 job creations, marked with our priorities, intelligence and cyber.
The profile sought is mainly that of political science graduates, engineers and geeks, but also young people with very different backgrounds.
However, the soldiers sometimes complain about their living and working conditions ...
We have invested a lot in the first years so that the soldier's equipment can be renewed, that his living and training conditions are improved.
It is true, there is still much to be done, in particular on the conditions of accommodation of the soldiers.
In 2021, we will invest 160 million euros for family housing.
The soldier must be able to offer his family serene living conditions, which is why the programming law provides for nearly 500 million euros for the family plan.
This ranges from the military's access to free Wi-Fi in their units - we saw during the health crisis that this communication capacity is essential - to the implementation of childcare aids, during periods of absence of one of the two spouses.
The soldiers no longer need to go and buy equipment themselves?
It's really something that I don't hear about anymore.
Faced with Covid-19, are we testing everywhere in the army?
We apply national health rules.
Whether it is projecting a soldier on an outside theater or boarding a sailor on a ship, there is first a fortnight, an isolation, then the test.
And there is no boarding or projection until the test gives a negative result.
And it's the same process on the way back.
We have also installed on board ships and in external operations automatons to test the military in case of symptoms.
Greece has announced the purchase of 18 Rafale.
Is such a contract justified for a country in economic crisis?
How much does this represent?
No country can lower its guard on its defense.
Terrorism and the climate of tension in the Mediterranean have brought about the end of a form of naivety in Europe.
This is an acquisition of around two billion euros, a number of aircraft being second-hand.
This contract, which I hope to formalize before the end of the year for deliveries to the Greeks from 2021, is excellent news for our manufacturers.
It will make it possible to maintain 7,000 jobs over 18 months, at the aircraft manufacturer Dassault and the 500 SMEs that contribute to the manufacture of this combat aircraft.
A dozen of these Rafales will be second-hand, taken from the Air Force.
Some fear a reduction in its capacities ...
This levy will be made in such a way that it has no impact on the operational capacity of our armies and the training of our pilots, I will personally ensure that.
These fears are irrelevant.
As for new planes, we will ensure that the production chain is optimized, which works for the benefit of exports and our armies.
Industrial continuity will be ensured.
We must walk on two legs: our companies need orders from the Ministry of the Armed Forces for our forces, and to produce in order to export.
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