The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Fabien Mandon, reaffirmed on Thursday to the National Assembly that the threat of an “open war” with Russia remains his “top priority concern.” Auditioned on the update of military programming, he justifies the addition of 36 billion euros due to Russian rearmament and uncertainty of American support.
The possibility of an “open war” with Russia remains “my top priority concern,” said French Chief of Staff Fabien Mandon on Thursday, who had already warned of a “shock in three, four years.”
“It is necessary not to raise concerns,” stressed General Mandon to the members of the defense commission during an audition focused on updating military programming to strengthen the defense budget by 2030.
“Each country has the freedom to evolve, but in any case, the projections we have today indicate that Russia, by 2025, will have 1.3 million soldiers, with a projection of 1.9 (million) in 2030,” he pointed out.
The number of Russian heavy tanks is set to increase from 4,000 in 2025 to 7,000 in 2030, while the number of Russian naval combat ships “should remain between 230 and 240,” he added.
“This is absolutely not dogmatic, it is based on intelligence,” he insisted, justifying the need to strengthen French defense capabilities.
For the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, “this military programming law is crucial for the defense of our citizens, the defense of our country, the defense of our interests.”
“We are in a period of danger. It is not necessary to raise concerns, but to be alert because we need this defense investment,” argued General Mandon.
The bill updating the Military Programming Law presented on Wednesday in the Council of Ministers provides an additional 36 billion euros for the Armed Forces, in addition to the 413 billion already allocated for the period 2024-2030.
“The recourse to inhibition of force,” and the “persistent terrorist threat in the Near and Middle East, in Asia, and also in Africa,” also justify the effort required from the French for their defense, according to him.
Moreover, “we can no longer have the same level of trust in the commitment of Americans to our security,” even if “dialogue with American military authorities” remains of “great quality,” he added.
Faced with the “simultaneity of crises,” the priorities of the United States “are not the same priorities as those of our country or our continent, and they have been warning us for months, saying ‘strengthen yourselves, we may not be able to cover your needs when you need them,'” he recalled.
