France's top general warns military too small and production too slow in Senate hearings
France's chief of defense staff, Gen. Fabien Mandon, warned senators in closed-door hearings that the French military is too small and arms production too slow, and that Germany may surpass France as Europe's top military power within five years. Mandon said the air force is too small and that European missile-maker MBDA, despite running factories 24 hours a day, has an inadequate number of production lines. The warnings come as the Senate votes this week on an updated military planning law that earmarks an extra €36 billion for defense by 2030 but does not fund additional aircraft or naval vessels.
France's chief of defense staff, Gen. Fabien Mandon, warned senators in closed-door hearings in April and May 2026 that the French military is too small and arms production too slow, and that Germany may surpass France as Europe's top military power within five years.
"We have not yet reached the level needed to fully address the challenges ahead," Mandon told the Senate's foreign affairs and defense committee, according to newly released readouts of the normally closed sessions. "If Germany continues at this pace, in five years, the argument that we have operational experience and a certain culture will no longer hold water." He added: "For the Americans, Germany is gradually becoming the European benchmark."
By 2029, Germany is expected to spend €153 billion a year on defense, about 3.5% of GDP. France plans to reach about €76.3 billion in defense spending by 2030. The hearings focused on France's updated military planning law, which earmarks an extra €36 billion for defense by 2030 but does not foresee purchasing additional aircraft or naval vessels. The Senate is voting on the bill this week.
"The updated military planning law represents a move toward greater rigor, depth and consistency, but we have not yet arrived at the right model," Mandon said. "To achieve it, the decision must be a political one."
Mandon said France's air force is too small. While Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and President Emmanuel Macron initially promised 30 extra Rafale fighter jets, the planning law includes no provision for more warplanes. Mandon, a pilot himself, said air force chief Gen. Jérôme Bellanger could rapidly create a squadron of drones with a 3,000-kilometer range carrying 200 to 400 kg of explosives.
The general also highlighted persistent problems with defense production, nearly four years after Macron called on French companies to enter a war economy. "I am not satisfied with the current level of production, and I believe that its inadequacy poses a threat to our national defense," Mandon told senators. "Our companies are capable of producing remarkable, high-tech products, but they don't know how to manufacture them quickly and at low cost."
He called out European missile-maker MBDA by name, acknowledging that the company runs its factory 24 hours a day but has an "inadequate" number of production lines.
As senators complained that the updated military planning law's spending boost was insufficient, Mandon replied that any massive increase would have to be decided by the next president. Macron, a strong advocate of higher military budgets and tight integration with NATO, is in the final year of his presidency; the next presidential election is in 2027. "What investments will France make in its defense? The answer will become clear following the upcoming presidential election," he said.