United States - Q&A - Extract from the press briefing (31 January 2025)
How do you respond to Marco Rubio’s remarks accusing France of not spending enough on defense?
Q: How do you respond to Marco Rubio’s remarks accusing France of not spending enough on defense?
A: Since 2017, President Macron has worked to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy. The new geopolitical configuration is an opportunity for Europe to assert itself as the strategic power that it is. That was the strong message contained in the speech the President gave at the Sorbonne on April 25, 2024.
In line with the Versailles agenda adopted in May 2022, France is in favor of boosting sovereignty at the European level so that Europe can give itself the tools it needs to increase its power and strengthen the European pillar within NATO, notably through the European program to build a resilient defense industry. We must make major strategic decisions and be ready to scale up in order to build a credible European defense that serves our interests and European-Atlantic and European security.
European nations have been responsible for a large part of the military support for Ukraine and have helped strengthen NATO’s posture on its eastern flank.
Furthermore, France is one of 23 NATO member countries that allocate at least 2% of GDP to defense spending.
France has also made commitments on the national level, doubling its defense budget by 2027 through the Military Programming Act adopted in 2023. France’s armed forces are noted for their high-quality operations and their ability to conceive and carry out large-scale operations abroad.