France to raise defense targets

CITING RUSSIAN THREAT

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President Emmanuel Macron is on Sunday to set new French defense targets in the face of a menacing Russia and a potential United States disengagement from Europe, his office said.

“Defense efforts” must be made in the face of mounting threats and a disintegrating world order, Elysee officials said ahead of the president’s 7:00 pm (1700 GMT) speech to the armed forces, traditionally held on the eve of France’s national Bastille Day holiday.

Despite France’s difficult budgetary situation, the president’s announcements will be “major”, they said.

French military and security officials have been warning of global threats weighing on France, with Defense Chief of Staff Chief Thierry Burkhard saying on Friday that Russia posed a “durable” threat to Europe and that the “rank of European countries in tomorrow’s world” was being decided in Ukraine, invaded by Russia in 2022.

Russia currently views France as its “main adversary in Europe”, Burkhard said.