France to double its military budget by 2027, faster than planned

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that France would increase its defence budget more quickly than originally planned, announcing additional spending of €3.5 billion ($4 billion) for 2026 and €3 billion for 2027 amid military threats from Russia.

"In 2027, we will therefore spend €64 billion on our defence. That is double the budget available to the armed forces in 2017," Macron said on the eve of France's national Bastille Day holiday in a traditional address to the armed forces.

The doubling of the budget had originally been planned for 2030.

Referring to Russia's war against Ukraine, Macron said that "freedom has never been so threatened since the end of World War II in 1945" and that "peace on our continent has never depended so much on our present decisions."

To meet the threat, France must invest in more ammunition, drones, air defence, as well as electronic warfare and weapons systems in space, Macron said.

The French president once again called on Europe to take responsibility for its own defence and jointly invest in its own weapons systems "on a large scale."