French lawmakers have signed off on a major update to the country’s 2024–2030 military spending plan, locking in an additional €36 billion (about $39 billion) compared with the version enacted in August 2023.
The revised law raises the French Armed Forces Ministry’s budget to €76.3 billion (about $82.4 billion) in 2030—equivalent to 2.5% of France’s GDP. The deal, reached by a joint committee of members of France’s National Assembly and Senate, ends weeks of back-and-forth between the two chambers, which had disagreed over how ambitious the buildup should be.
Senators pushed for a larger target—and more ships and jets
France’s Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee had sought to go further, proposing an extra €14 billion (about $15.1 billion) on top of the government’s path. That would have taken the 2030 target to €83.9 billion (about $90.6 billion), or 2.7% of GDP.
The stated aim was to move closer to a NATO commitment France has made to spend 3.5% of GDP on defense, while expanding planned capabilities with three additional frigates and roughly 30 Rafale F4 fighter jets, including 10 for the French Navy.
But that €14 billion add-on did not survive the final negotiations. The version approved by the joint committee sticks to the government’s original trajectory, without the Senate’s proposed increases.
Warnings about falling behind Germany
The vote comes as French officials publicly worry that the gap with European partners—especially Germany—is widening quickly. Gen. Fabien Mandon, France’s chief of defense staff, told the Senate Finance Committee that “falling behind is possible.”
If Germany keeps up its pace, Mandon said, “in five years, the argument that we benefit from operational experience and a certain culture will no longer hold.”
German spending plans dwarf France’s 2030 target
Recent figures have sharpened the concern. According to a note from France’s Treasury Department (Direction générale du Trésor) published last November, Berlin plans to raise defense and security spending to €167.8 billion (about $181.2 billion) in 2029, up from €66.8 billion (about $72.1 billion) in 2024.
For 2026, Germany’s Defense Ministry budget is set at €82.7 billion (about $89.3 billion), plus €25.5 billion (about $27.5 billion) drawn from the Bundeswehr’s special fund—€108.2 billion (about $116.9 billion) in total. France, with €76.3 billion (about $82.4 billion) projected for 2030, remains structurally below that level.
“For the Americans, the European reference is becoming Germany”
Mandon also said that “for the Americans, the European reference is gradually becoming Germany,” and noted that Berlin’s recently published strategic review “does not mention France a single time.”
France’s enduring advantage, he argued, is its nuclear deterrent, which Mandon placed at the center of “Europe’s defense equation.”
