Far-right lawmakers want to strengthen the air force with 20 more Rafale fighter jets, the navy with three more frigates and 10 more carrier-based Rafales. The party’s lawmakers are also keen to make land forces stronger and boost France’s space capabilities.
The party did not, however, spell out how it would pay for the extra defense spending; the government is eyeing spending cuts to bring its budget deficit under control.
One party official close to Bardella said the money would come from “lowering public spending.” A National Rally lawmaker said potential savings include immigration policy, state agencies, the French contribution to the EU budget and healthcare for undocumented migrants.
Another challenge is that most of the party’s amendments were rejected by other political groups. It doesn’t have a majority in parliament, so it would have to cobble together a coalition even if its candidate wins next year’s presidential vote. That might make it harder for the far-right party to undertake an immediate shift from Macron’s policies.
The next parliamentary election is in theory scheduled for 2029, but the next president is widely expected to call a snap election next year.
No EU defense spending
National Rally wants European arms-buying preferences to be replaced by those that favor France, including for early-warning systems, deep strike capabilities, air defense and space. Overall, far-right lawmakers said they wanted to scrap many European projects such as the European Long-Strike Approach on deep-strike capabilities, the European Patrol Corvette program, the FCAS jet and the MGCS tank.