France’s Macron for expanded defence industry in switch to ‘war economy’
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00:00 A presidential visit to lay the foundation for France's shift towards a war economy and
00:05 to mark the opening of a brand new ammunition factory in Dordogne.
00:10 Ukraine's ongoing struggle against Russia has brought defence back to the top of the
00:13 government's priorities.
00:15 "I'm convinced that we'll be living this geopolitical reality for a long time.
00:21 There is a massive rearmament recently due to Russia.
00:24 Everywhere in Europe we're seeing military spending and contracts on the rise.
00:29 Politics is changing around the globe.
00:33 We are committed to being a long-term part of a changing geopolitical strategy.
00:37 The defence industry will have a growing role."
00:42 President Emmanuel Macron has been urging defence industry giants to amp up their production.
00:47 The state placed 20 billion euros worth of orders with manufacturers for 2023, the largest
00:52 sum in almost 10 years.
00:55 Europe's leading gunpowder manufacturer, Urenco, is promising to more than double its production
00:59 capacity by 2025.
01:02 "We work seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
01:06 The aim is to supply more than a million modular charges to contribute to the war economy and
01:11 the current conflicts."
01:13 The French war economy is framed around two main axes - replenishing ammunition and artillery
01:19 stocks and relocating production facilities to France.
01:23 The objective is to continue supporting Ukraine, to be prepared to react in the event of a
01:27 high-intensity conflict and to maintain France's strategic autonomy.
01:32 The transition to a war economy will also be made possible by the military programming
01:36 law, which has set a provisional budget of 413 billion euros for the next six years.