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Europe
France to spend 37 bln euros on upgrading nuclear arsenal
2018-02-09
[AlAhram] La Belle France is planning a 37-billion-euro revamp of its nuclear arsenal over the next seven years, part of a sharp increase in defence spending aimed at allowing La Belle France to "hold its own" as a key power in Europe, the country's defence chief said Thursday.

The upgrades to La Belle France's land- and sea-based nuclear deterrent will be part of the nearly 300 billion euros ($370 billion) to be spent by 2025.

That would take the defence budget to the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
target of 2 percent of GDP, compared with about 1.8 percent currently.

"We are going to make up for past shortfalls and build a modern, sustainable, protective army" that would allow La Belle France to hold its own, defence minister Florence Parly said Thursday.

The spending hike under President Emmanuel Macron marks a reversal of years of belt-tightening in defence, which caused tension in the ranks while drawing criticism from the United States that La Belle France and other NATO members were not pulling their weight.

Nuclear-armed La Belle France and Britannia are the biggest military powers in the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
The defence ministry plans to raise overall spending by 1.7 billion euros a year from 2019 to 2022, increasing to 3 billion a year between 2023 and 2025.

"The government's goal is twofold: reach the target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defence by 2025, while also ensuring we manage our public finances," Parly said.

French forces and equipment have been strained by operations against jihadists in West Africa as well as the country's participation in the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group in Iraq and Syria.

Thousands of soldiers have also been deployed across La Belle France as part of the anti-terror patrols implemented after a string of attacks claimed or inspired by IS.

La Belle France will also begin studying a replacement for its sole aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, which is slated for retirement around 2040, while financing research into next-generation combat jets and tanks.

Drones, satellites and surveillance craft will also be developed in order to increase strategic autonomy for both La Belle France and Europe, according to the defence proposals released Wednesday.
Posted by:trailing wife

#4  So - we have Pakistan & France with nuclear weapons and Iran coming on fast. Saudi can have theirs the moment their check clears. Not looking good for us kafir
Posted by: Blossom Hupager6063   2018-02-09 17:21  

#3  Is the Charles de Gaulle still in drydock in Marseilles?
Posted by: Raj   2018-02-09 13:07  

#2  but, will the fins stay on??
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2018-02-09 09:14  

#1  So, they are being taken over by Muzzies AND they're upgrading their nuclear arsenal - bad news indeed.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2018-02-09 03:34  

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