French defence cuts 'could harm British military partnership'

French government plans for severe defence cuts could jeopardise its military entente cordiale with Britain, “kill” its conventional army and render interventions such as that in Mali impossible, Gallic defence officials have warned.

Patricia Adam, the Socialist president of the National Assembly’s defence committee, warned that proposed cuts by the budget ministry would see France’s already historically low defence budget cut by a total of €30 billion (£25 billion) by 2020. She said those cuts could see its role in a crucial partnership with Britain fatally weakened.

“We are in constant discussions with the British about what we can share in defence terms, but you can only share what you have, not what you don’t have,” she said.

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