Emmanuel Macron will travel to Cher on Thursday, where he will notably visit several arms industry sites in order to illustrate France's effort to produce more and more quickly in a context of
"war economy"
, announced Tuesday the Elysée.
Accompanied by the Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, and the Secretary of State for Youth Sarah El Hairy, the Head of State will first be expected in the morning at the Technical Preparatory Military School in Bourges, where he will discuss with students.
This establishment, which opened its doors at the beginning of the year, aims to
"respond to a growing need for non-commissioned officers in technical trades"
, underlines the Elysée.
In the afternoon, Emmanuel Macron will go to a test center of the General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) where he will inaugurate the renovated firing point of the Caesar guns.
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These guns are the centerpiece of French artillery.
18 have been sent to Ukraine and six others could be sent soon.
The Head of State will then go to the Nexter Arrowtech site, where the 155mm shells for the Caesar guns are produced.
And he will visit the MBDA Subdray factory which is in charge of the engineering and testing of missile propulsion means.
This trip comes as the Ministry of the Armed Forces and industrialists have been working since this summer on
the “war economy”
in which France must, according to Emmanuel Macron, engage in order to face the new geopolitical situation.
A production against the background of the war in Ukraine
The Head of State
"will remind industrialists of the objective of producing enough, more quickly and at controlled prices"
, indicates the Elysée, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
France will thus devote two billion euros to ordering ammunition in 2023 for its armed forces, i.e. a third more than last year.
This includes, for example, 10,000 155 mm shells for Caesar guns, or even more than 50 million small-caliber ammunition.
As announced on several occasions and as must be the case again in 2024 and 2025, the armed forces budget will increase by three billion euros in 2023 to reach 43.9 billion euros (excluding pensions), in accordance with the Law of military programming (LPM 2019-2025).
In a report published in February shortly before the Russian invasion, deputies considered it
"essential to replenish stocks of ammunition and parts to allow high-intensity training"
and estimated the need for funding at 6 billion euros.