Defence

The President of the Republic is the guarantor of France’s territorial integrity (Article 5 of the Constitution) and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces (Article 15). In this capacity, he has the power to use nuclear weapons, if necessary. The Prime Minister is responsible for National Defence (Article 21), and the Minister of Defence is in charge of organising and mobilising the armed forces. The professionalisation of the armed forces and the end of armed forces combining career military personnel and conscripts announced in 1996 came into effect on 31 December 2002. Compulsory national service lasting one year for 18-year-old men has been abolished and replaced by a compulsory day of defence preparation for all young men and women aged between 16 and 18 years.

Defence spending has been increased substantially since 2002, with the objective of reaching 2.5% of GDP. This increase has been enshrined in the Military Planning Act for 2003-2008, which calls for spending of 14.84 billion euros each year to maintain and improve capabilities through delivery of new equipment. This represents an average increase of 6.8% in constant euros over the whole period compared to the previous Military Planning Act for 1997-2002. In 2008, defence spending will represent at least 2% of GDP. The Act for 2003-2008 sets troop numbers at 446,563 in 2008.