France Unveils €6.5-B Military Boost Amid Rising Threats

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced an additional €6.5 billion ($7.6 billion) in military spending over the next two years, citing unprecedented threats including Russia’s war on Ukraine, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, and cyberattacks, the Associated Press reported.

Macron pledged to double annual defense spending to €64 billion ($74.8 billion) by 2027—up from €32 billion in 2017 when he first took office. I Photo: Arnaud KLOPFENSTEIN / French Army

In a Bastille Day eve address to the military, Macron called for a stronger Europe and reaffirmed France’s support for Ukraine.

He pledged to double annual defense spending to €64 billion ($74.8 billion) by 2027—up from €32 billion in 2017 when he first took office. “Since 1945, freedom has never been so threatened,” Macron said. “To be free in this world, we must be feared. To be feared, we must be powerful.”