Macron calls for increased weapons production as arms supplies to Ukraine fall short
French President Emmanuel Macron urged defence manufacturers to boost production and innovation as Europe struggles to increase arms supplies to buttress Ukraine
Issued on:
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President Macron has pushed the defence industry to switch to "war economy mode", reiterating his call during a visit to the Cherbourg naval base in northwestern France.
In his New Year's address to the French armed forces on Friday, Macron said: "We must amplify the transformation we have begun" to respond more quickly to Ukraine's needs in its war against Russia.
"We can't let Russia think that it can win," Macron added, warning that "a Russian victory would mean the end of European security".
"We must never again be satisfied with production deadlines that extend over several years," the president said.
Résolution, détermination et fierté. pic.twitter.com/8B8GK87Ocz
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 20, 2024
Ammunition shortage
The French president underlined that defence manufacturers were expected to ramp up speed and volume as well as innovate.
Macron praised France's "high quality" weapons but stressed that the country had not produced or innovated enough in the past, the "comfortable years" that he said provoked "a form of self-satisfied numbness".
"This world no longer allows that," he said.
Macron believes some defence firms have been slow to understand "the importance of being able to deliver quickly" and had "over the last year and a half sometimes missed out on contracts, which I regret".
Last week, Ukraine warned that its army faced a "very real and pressing" ammunition shortage.
The European Union had promised to deliver one million shells by early 2024, but EU lawmakers say only 300,000 have been delivered so far.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe