The French defense industry is beginning to ramp up more than three years after the war broke out in Ukraine, and as the European Union seeks to build its strategic autonomy.
Today (March 20), Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Economy Minister Éric Lombard will make a highly symbolic visit to inaugurate the new facility of the Eurenco group.
The facility in Bergerac will move the production of 1,800 tons of heavy weapons gunpowder per year from Germany, Italy, and Sweden to France. The company claims it has doubled its sales since 2022 and that its order books are full until 2029.
France’s defense budget, which is 50.5 billion euros this year, is projected to reach 67.5 billion euros in 2030. President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly stressed that the entire sector should expect a “significant” increase in public orders. This is welcome news for French defense manufacturers, even if the funding issue is far from resolved.
“In November 2021, the Ministry of Defense contacted me to produce ammunition for special forces,” Olivier Lacreuse, President of Plubeau & Cie, told Euractiv.
The company, based near Belfort, initially specialized in precision metalwork for the railway industry and sporting ammunition.
Lacreuse says, “Two models of our ammunition have been approved, and we opened our new factory last Monday, but I am still struggling to secure my raw material supply. I import my cartridge cases from the US, but I am looking for suppliers in France due to the current geopolitical instability.”
Jean-Michel Jacques, a member of Ensemble pour la République (Together for the Republic) and Chairman of the National Assembly’s Defense and Armed Forces Committee, said that the development of France’s defense industry depends on better communication so that companies are “aware” of the needs of the Armed Forces Ministry.
The increase in defense spending is also expected to accelerate the transformation of struggling sectors such as the automotive industry. The Fonderie de Bretagne foundry in the Lorient region, which produces spare parts for Renault and faces bankruptcy, will be taken over by the French Europlasma group. The company plans to produce 24,000 metal casings for artillery shells every day at the facility.
France’s defense industry can also count on its exports, which reached 18 billion euros in 2024, its best result except for 2022.
Increased conflicts worldwide and rising tensions with the US may encourage new buyers to invest in French military equipment.
Sales of Rafale fighter jets, submarines, drones, missiles, and Caesar howitzers naturally benefit major manufacturers such as Dassault Aviation, Safran, and Thales, all of which announced strong profits in 2024, but many small and medium-sized enterprises are also signing contracts abroad.
For example, RTSYS, a company specializing in underwater acoustics and robotics, generates approximately 90% of its revenue from exports to Europe and Asia.
“We expect strong growth in our business in the coming years. With rising tensions in the South China Sea and the recent attacks on Baltic Sea cables, everyone realizes that underwater infrastructure needs to be monitored,” the company’s director, François-Xavier de Cointet, told Euractiv.
Following the European Commission’s announcement of a plan to raise 800 billion euros through loans and debt for defense, French MP Jacques said that French defense companies should coordinate at the continental level.
“The production of new weapons being coordinated at a continental level will help the growth of French industry, contrary to what some people think. We can easily imagine French groups setting up factories in other European countries, just as foreign companies can establish themselves in France,” Jacques said.
For now, the European defense industry and technology base accounts for 33% of global arms exports, including American companies that manufacture in Europe.
