During a meeting at Matignon, ministers and senior military officials discussed the ability of industrial companies to meet new orders for ammunition and drones, whose consumption has significantly increased with the war in the Middle East.
“Sovereignty comes at a price”
“The defense industry and sovereignty issues concern us all,” stated Economy Minister Roland Lescure as he outlined three levels of insufficiently mobilized funding: Europe, state shareholders, and individuals who can invest in certain dedicated funds. “We can all contribute to this effort and I believe we should do so and we will all benefit from it,” he added, mentioning the Bpifrance Defense fund where individuals can invest starting from €500 to support non-listed companies in the sector.
Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin emphasized that “sovereignty comes at a price.” She highlighted the creation of the France Munitions platform announced on Wednesday, a “wholesaler” in ammunition funded by both the state and the private sector, to be more agile and go further.
On Wednesday, Sébastien Lecornu announced additional orders for ammunition amounting to €8.5 billion by 2030 during a parliamentary debate, as part of the update to the Military Programming Law (LPM), which is set to be reviewed.
