Rapid Fire August 2, 2013: French 2014-2019 Acquisition Plans Rely on Sale of Govt Property & Exports

• The French government presented [in French] its 2014-19 Loi de Programmation Militaire (LPM, a 6-year defense budget law), to be discussed in parliament in the fall. They are confirming President Hollande’s earlier commitment to a flat (in nominal terms) EUR 31.4B/year ($41.4B) for the first 3 years of the period. However reaching that number will depend on EUR 6.1B worth of “exceptional income” from the sale of government-owned buildings and possibly shares in defense companies.

• To drill down into France’s planned acquisitions, see their LPM briefing document [PDF, in French]. Among them, France hopes that exports will help sustain Dassault’s required 11 Rafale deliveries per year. Between ignoring inflation, relying on big ticket item sales whose value and timing remain to be seen, and hoping for tentative exports, these are three significant caveats to the “flat spending” pledge.