INFOGRAPHIC. From 32 billion in 2017 to more than 67 billion planned for 2030... How the French defense budget has evolved in recent years

Faced with an increasingly destabilised world, Emmanuel Macron, who spoke on Sunday evening, is seeking to increase the resources of the armed forces beyond what is already provided for in the military planning law passed in 2023.

An exceptional increase. Emmanuel Macron is due to speak on Sunday, July 13 , about the "defense efforts" required in the face of worsening threats and a world order facing numerous challenges. During his traditional address to the armed forces on the eve of the national holiday in the gardens of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, at the Hôtel de Brienne, the head of state will make "major announcements," according to the Élysée.

To prepare minds, the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Thierry Burkhard, painted a grim picture of the threats during a rare press conference on Friday . At the heart of these statements was the defence budget, which has already increased significantly since 2017, rising from €32.2 billion to €50.5 billion in 2025. "Very clearly, we must now review our planning and our strategy, revise it in light of the changing nature of the risk," Emmanuel Macron admitted on Thursday during his state visit to the United Kingdom .

As it stands, the French military programming law, passed in 2023 for the period 2024-2030, provides 413 billion euros for the armed forces, with annual budget increases of just over 3 billion euros, reaching 67.4 billion in 2030.

But the government is seeking to further increase this amount, in the midst of a budgetary crisis. "The context (...) has evolved rapidly," explained the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, to La Tribune on Sunday . "The Middle East has reminded us of its presence. The Russian threat has also fueled other regional or local clashes, such as between Armenia and Azerbaijan," explains the minister, who adds a need to respond to "technological disruptions," particularly in space and artificial intelligence.

France must also meet the new targets set, under pressure from Donald Trump, by NATO member countries in June, which plan to devote 3.5% of their GDP to military spending alone by 2035 (5% overall for their security spending). After peaking at over 7.5% in the 1950s, defense spending has steadily declined throughout the 20th century, before reaching its lowest level of 1.87% of GDP in 2012, according to figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) . This figure has increased slightly since then, reaching 2.05% in 2024.

Like France, other European countries are seeking to increase their military spending. London plans to increase its defense budget to 2.5% by 2027, then to 3% after 2029. Germany, for its part, plans to reach a defense budget of €162 billion by 2029, or 3.5% of its GDP, and Poland already devotes 4.7% of its national wealth to it.