The Senate Defense Commission considers that manufacturers “do not benefit from the visibility necessary to prepare to rise in power”.
by Cédric PIETRAULUGA
Many words, but still too few acts. This is, in essence, the criticism addressed by the Senate to the government about the “War Economy” plan launched in the summer of 2022 by Emmanuel Macron, intended to mobilize armaments manufacturers to produce more and more quickly. “If the expression (…) has the merit of stimulating a dynamic, it is excessive with regard to the objectives pursued and, above all, of the results obtained to date”, indicates a report on the teachings of the war in Ukraine, adopted Wednesday, February 8, by the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces of the Senate, MO12345lemonde commission was able to consult.
Drawing the lessons from the war in Ukraine and the attrition of the materials induced by a high intensity conflict, the Head of State had sounded the tocsin during a visit to EUROSATORY, on June 13, 2022. ” We will have to go faster, think differently about rhythms, upload, margins, to be able to reconstruct more quickly what is essential for our armed forces, for our allies or for those we want to help “, had pleaded Mr. Macron in front of the leaders of the industrial and technological defense base (IBBC), which brings together the 4,000 companies in the sector. “You will have me by your side,” he added, promising “decisions” and “investments”.
Eight months later, the account is not there, say the senators. Unveiled on January 20, the next military programming law (LPM), which sets the investments of the armies for the period 2024-2030, is still too vague, according to them. Only its overall amount – 413 billion euros over seven years – and its major orientations have yet been announced. However, “without firm commitments of the State, without multi-year framework contracts, manufacturers continue to depend on export and do not benefit from the visibility necessary to prepare if necessary to rise in power”, indicates the report. “By postponing the effort to the next LPM, we have already lost at least a year,” regrets Cédric Perrin, senator (Les Républicains) of the Territoire de Belfort and co -author of the report. ”
Beyond the orders that are long overdue, the senators deplore the absence of advances in the access of manufacturers to banking credits. “BitD companies are faced with a shortage of funding,” they say. Likewise, the lack of skilled labor, including welders and mechanical adjusters, remains a brake on their development. “A large interministerial plan to revalue industrial professions is necessary”, advocates the report, adding that “the implementation of an industrial defense reserve could be one of the spearheads of this strategy”.
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