France cuts armed forces as budget squeeze hits military

France is to cut more than 30,000 defence posts and reduce or delay orders for jet fighters and other equipment as the socialist government seeks to balance the need for stringent spending cuts with a bid to sustain the country’s role as a big military power.

A six-year defence budget, adopted by the government at its final meeting before the summer break on Friday, will see spending held at this year’s level of €31.4bn for the next three years, a real-terms cut.

It includes a reduction of 34,000 posts on top of almost 50,000 already made, shrinking the total military and defence staff to 242,000 in 2019, from 324,000 in 2008. Some 10,000 of the new cuts will be operational troops.

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