Friday, March 14, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, will receive the defense manufacturers to fix a new roadmap aimed at accelerating the equipment delivery of equipment. Antoine Bouvier, former CEO of the Mbda European Missilier and ex-director of the Airbus strategy, pleads for a “Strict application of the principle of European preference”. He judges that France has managed to maintain industrial skills throughout the spectrum of armaments, even during the period of “Peace dividends”. This should allow him to relaunch production.
What are the consequences of current geopolitical upheavals on French defense industry?
After the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union [en 1991]we lived the period of “peace dividends”. The defense budget has long been the adjustment variable of the state budget. Industrialists had to be flexible, but downward: reduction of the quantities ordered and lengthening development calendars. The industrial tool was optimized to allow it. Stocks had to be limited and the supply chain as a dual production [civile et militaire] as possible.
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