Military programming bill: associations, including the League of Human Rights, denounce the creation of a state of national security alert in a forum.

Members of Parliament began examining a law on Monday updating the military programming voted on in 2023. This new text sets out the major directions and resources of the French armed forces by 2030.

Several associations and unions, including the League of Human Rights, France Nature Environnement, the Syndicat de la Magistrature, and CGT, denounced the establishment of a “state of national security alert” in the military programming law project in a forum published on Sunday, May 3. “What worries us is that it’s actually a state of emergency in all but name, to be triggered by the government based on extremely vague criteria,” said Nathalie Tehio, president of the League of Human Rights, on France Inter on Monday.

By triggering this “national security alert state,” there are “possibilities to derogate from labor law, environmental law, and heritage law,” she expressed concern. “That’s why environmental associations as well as CGT, FSU, and Solidaires have signed this forum.” “We can already see that when it comes to the military budget, there is no real deliberation, no transparency,” criticized Nathalie Tehio. “This is a democratic denial. We are talking about constrained budget choices and social benefits will be affected by saying that they “need to be reduced” for budgetary reasons. Is this the right answer? Is this the right choice?” questioned the president of the League of Human Rights. Overall, we are “in a situation where there is no transparency.” According to her, “there should be infinitely more safeguards. That’s what democracy is about.”