This Thursday, May 7, 2026, deputies approved a new trajectory for military spending over the period 2024-2030, with 36 billion more promised to the armies. The parliamentary gridlock, however, makes the date of resumption of debates on the military programming law uncertain.
What to remember
- The Assembly adopted the flagship article of the 2024-2030 military programming law. It provides for 436 billion euros in budgetary investments, with a trajectory targeting an annual budget of 76.3 billion euros by 2030 (2.5% of GDP).
- The text provides for massive budget increases: 26 billion euros for munitions and 8.4 billion for drones. These priorities arise from feedback from current conflicts in Ukraine and the Near and Middle East.
- The deputies validated the control of the publications of ex-intelligence agents and the use of surveillance algorithms. Following the delay in debates this Thursday evening, the resumption of examination of the bill could take place on May 18.
In a very depopulated hemicycle, most of the deputies already being in their constituency for the commemorations of May 8, the Assembly adopted the flagship article of the bill updating the military programming law.
It provides for an additional 36 billion euros compared to the last programming law (2023), or 436 billion in budgetary investments over the period 2024-2030. The RN and PS deputies abstained, and LFI voted against the article. Some 13.3 billion additional resources are supposed to be added to the effort, from real estate revenues or income from the army health service for example.
For Catherine Vautrin, Minister of the Armed Forces, the text translates the “need to accelerate, to intensify our rearmament effort”with “feedback” d‘”Ukraine as in the Near and Middle East”in particular on the importance of stocks of missiles and shells, or on the predominant place of drones.
Thus, the new roadmap provides, for example, 8.5 billion more for munitions (26 billion over the entire period), or two additional billion for drones (8.4 billion over the period). According to this trajectory, the annual military budget would then be 76.3 billion in 2030, or 2.5% of GDP.
However, the path drawn must still be validated each year when the state budget is adopted, and Parliament can therefore deviate from it. In addition, the 2027 presidential election is likely to reshuffle the cards. On the National Rally side, Laurent Jacobelli thus accused Emmanuel Macron of wanting “force your hand” of the future resident of the Elysée, who in any case “will redo a programming law” corresponding to its program. Bastien Lachaud (LFI) criticized the absence of new tax resources, particularly on high incomes, to finance the announced effort, judging that it would have repercussions as it stands on social or public service expenditure: “How do you expect the French to accept so much (military) spending when you explain to them that there is no money for the rest”.
Resumption in ten days?
The deputies spent almost the entire week debating a report annexed to the bill, a sort of road map supposed to direct investments, without normative value. Paradoxically, this is the article which gave rise to the most amendments, – a habit for programming laws –, the debates sometimes turning to the pre-presidential campaign on Defense.
On Thursday, however, the deputies approved concrete measures, such as regulating the publication of works, – in particular books –, of intelligence agents and ex-agents. A measure aimed at avoiding the disclosure of elements that could endanger operations or other agents.
The competent minister could control the information before publication. “Works of the mind” members of certain services (DGSE, DGSI, DRM, DRSD, DNRED, TRACFIN), under penalty of criminal sanctions, and up to ten years after the termination of an agent’s duties. Against his opinion, the deputies set a deadline of two months for the government to oppose the publication, the absence of a response being equivalent to authorization.
When will the debates resume?
Jérémie Iordanoff (ecologist) and Aurélien Saintoul (LFI) were concerned about a disproportionate attack on freedom of expression, or even a questioning of the protection of whistleblowers. The Assembly also approved an article expanding the possibility for intelligence to use algorithms to track and exploit connection data on the web, in particular “for national defense” and against “organized crime” and trafficking in drugs or weapons.
A similar measure was censored by the Constitutional Council in the drug trafficking law.
As the debates dragged on, the deputies did not complete the examination of the text within the planned deadlines, with some 270 amendments remaining on Thursday evening.
A decision must be taken on Tuesday on the resumption of the debates, in a calendar already heavily congested by the number of texts announced. The date of May 18 was put on the table, without it being decided at this stage.
