Censorship from the Barnier government “would have very concrete consequences for our armies, but also more broadly for our French defense industrialists”.
Sébastien Lecornu in Paris, November 28, 2024. (AFP / THOMAS SAMSON)
“As the world rearms and threats accumulate, our armies and our industrialists need stability, visibility, and therefore confidence.” The Minister of Health, Sébastien Lecornu, highlighted, Monday December 2, the risks that government censorship would pose to the armed forces and the French defense industry.
The debate followed by a vote on the motions of censure tabled by the left and the National Rally against the government of Michel Barnier will take place on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The motion of censure tabled by the left-wing alliance of the New Popular Front has every chance of being adopted since the RN has announced its support. The text presented by Marine Le Pen's party should conversely not be supported by the NFP. These motions come after Michel Barnier held his government accountable on Monday for the draft budget for Social Security by triggering article 49.3 of the Constitution.
Censorship by the Barnier government “would have very concrete consequences for our armies
but also more broadly for our French defense industrialists: more than 200,000 jobs in more than 4,000 companies throughout our territories”, explained Sébastien Lecornu in a long message published on X.
A broken “essential momentum”
“Since 2017, under the leadership of the President of the Republic, we have worked tirelessly to rearm our country. Parliament confirmed this rearmament in the summer of 2023 by passing the military programming law, with a view to further to double the army budget by 2030. The vote to censure the Government, and therefore the absence of a budget for the year 2025, would break this momentum essential for the protection of our fellow citizens,
by preventing the proposed increase of 3.3 billion euros for our defense budget
“, according to the minister.
Thus, the salaries of the military could not be increased, while the 700 additional personnel could not be recruited.
Likewise, the fall of the government would sign “the impossibility of financing the planned modernization efforts, as
the impossibility of launching the order for our future aircraft carrier
and therefore accumulate a delay potentially making it impossible to join when the Charles de Gaulle leaves active service,” warned Sébastien Lecornu.
The entire French defense industry would suffer the consequences:
“from the family small business to our great champions, this would make it impossible to firmly guarantee the many orders planned”
.
“While the world is rearming and threats are accumulating, our armies and our industrialists need stability, visibility, and therefore confidence. The opposite would happen if a motion of censure against the budget of France”, concluded the minister.
