Paris “does not rule out” constraining the industry to accelerate arms production

After the speeches on“war economy”, soon restrictive measures? The French Minister of the Armed Forces announced on Tuesday March 26 that he would not refrain from using “requisitions” or to impose priorities on manufacturers to accelerate the production of military equipment for its army and Ukraine. “For the first time, I do not exclude using what the law allows the minister and the general delegate for armaments to do”affirmed Sébastien Lecornu during an unprecedented press conference in the presence of all the chiefs of staff.

Paris is ordering the French defense industry to produce more and more quickly to meet the needs of its army and ensure long-term support for Ukraine.

Objective: 100,000 shells in 2024

Requisitions, permitted by the Military Programming Law adopted in the fall of 2023, can range from “personnel, stocks or production tools” to devote them to the production of military equipment, recalled the Minister of the Armed Forces, believing that it was “the hardest tool in our legal arsenal”. “It’s not the priority tool at the moment I’m talking to you, but I’m telling you it exists”he clarified.

Sébastien Lecornu envisages, on the other hand, “in the next few weeks” to impose minimum stock levels on certain manufacturers, in order to produce more quickly, or to require that they give priority to military orders over civilian needs. Once again, the minister called on industrialists to “cultural rupture” to speed up the delivery of military equipment. France has set itself the objective of producing 100,000 shells, including 80,000 for Ukraine in 2024.