'Peace comes at a price’ Army chief DEMANDS more military spending after Berlin attack
THE Chief of Staff of the French army has called on the country to increase its military spending in preparation to confront an array of terror threats.
General Pierre de Villiers called for more spending on the French Army after the Berlin attack
General Pierre de Villiers told the French business daily Les Echos that, in light of the Berlin attack, France should spend two per cent of its GDP on defence instead of 1.77 per cent.
He also said there should be “a gradual rise in spending over the next five years”.
The army chief said the increase in defence spending would help keep people safe and prevent future terrorist attacks.
Police hunting for Tunisian man after Berlin terror attack
The general said the increase in spending would protect France from Terrorism
He said: “You cannot win a war without a war effort. The defence budget and our ability to respond to the threat from terrorism are intricately linked and interdependent.”
Peace comes at a price; the defence budget cannot be cut or frozen
General de Villiers added that the security environment had changed “dramatically” over the course of the past two years, and that the recent wave of ISIS-led jihadist attacks meant that France’s Socialist government could no longer “justify” defence budget cuts.
The general added that government officials, namely defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, had to gradually ramp up military spending to reach the target two per cent “before the end of the next quinquennium”.
According to General de Villiers, the socialist government can no longer justify spending cuts
He warned: “The budget needs to be increased as soon as possible. Peace comes at a price; the defence budget cannot be cut or frozen.”
France has, however, already pledged to meet the Nato defence spending target of two percent by 2025.