The French Ministry of Defense on October 4 posted a tweet in which it informed that, with a budget of €47.2 billion, the 2024 Armed Forces Finance Bill embodies the first step of the LPM 2024-2030 (Military Programming Law 2024-203). 2024 will be the first year of implementation of the 2024-2030 military programming law (LPM).
Presented by the French Minister of Defense, Sébastien Lecornu, to the Members of Parliament in charge of the Defense mission, this effort by the Nation for its defense responds to the challenges of guaranteeing tomorrow. Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces, said: “[Capacity investment, maintenance, operational preparation, support, innovation, Family plan, etc.] The budget for the year 2024 responds to all these challenges at the same time to guarantee that our armies do not miss the first steps of military programming which will be strategic and even irreversible to guarantee the success of France’s weapons tomorrow”.
The purchase of equipment represents the bulk of this budget (59%), ahead of the payroll (29%), operations (10%) and the financing of external operations and internal missions (2%). Regarding equipment, the year 2024 also promises to be very significant for the three forces. The French Navy will receive a defense and intervention frigate as well as a nuclear attack submarine; the Air Force will acquire 13 Rafale fighter jets, two A400M transport planes, and a spy satellite. Lastly, the Army will receive 138 additional Griffon armored vehicles, 103 Serval armored vehicles, and 8,000 HK416 assault rifles.