The rise in threats, illustrated by the war in Ukraine, justifies the continuation of French budgetary efforts in the field of defense but "
arbitrations will have to be made
" in view of the deterioration of public finances, warns the Court of Auditors in a report published on Wednesday .
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"
Continued budgetary efforts are necessary in view of the rise and diversification of threats, but the sustainability of public finances must be preserved
", while public accounts have been under great strain since the health crisis and with the conflict in Ukraine , commented the President of the Court, Pierre Moscovici, during the presentation of the report on "
the Military Programming Law (LPM) 2019-2025 and the capacities of the armies
".
Also, "
arbitrations will have to be made and room for maneuver will have to be found
", he suggests.
In this report, written before the start of the conflict in Ukraine at the end of February, the Court of Auditors welcomes a budget execution of the first years (2019-2021) of the LPM “
on schedule for the first time in two decades
.
Respect the objectives set
Emmanuel Macron began in 2017 a sharp rise in defense credits after years of scarcity.
The budget of the Ministry of the Armed Forces will again increase in 2022, to 40.9 billion euros, in accordance with the LPM 2019-2025 which plans to reach 50 billion euros in 2025. However, "
the strategic context requires that we we respected the objectives set
, ”estimates the Court, excluding a reduction in the capacities of the armies.
Two scenarios are on the table, according to the report: "
confirming the ambitions of the LPM
", which "
will require difficult trade-offs with other public spending
" for France to be able to meet its commitment to reduce its deficit to 3% of GDP by 2027. Or “
make the choice of major rebalancing between capabilities, such as those carried out by the United Kingdom in 2021
”, to the detriment of its land forces in particular.
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“
The Court does not recommend that France, a continental power whose ambition for strategic autonomy for itself and for Europe distinguishes it from the United Kingdom, makes identical choices, but accentuating its own strategic priorities seems inevitable
”, underlines Pierre Moscovici.
The Court of Auditors suggests in particular to “
develop operational cooperation
” with European partners, or even “
consider disengaging from certain missions
” such as Sentinel, on national territory, which could be transferred to the internal security forces.
In addition to its cost (140 million euros in 2020, in addition to 200 million euros in staff costs), this mission "
has the major drawback of disrupting the military training cycle and reducing the attractiveness of the profession for non-commissioned soldiers
”.