French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled a strategy to accelerate defence expenditure, committing to double the military budget by 2027. The decision comes as geopolitical tensions “are happening faster than expected”. This is three years ahead of the initial schedule to double the budget by 2030.

France had aimed to double its defence budget from 2017 levels by 2030. However, Macron pledged to reach the target by 2027. A military budget that stood at 32 billion euros ($37.40 billion) in 2017 will rise to 64 billion euros by 2027, with an additional 3.5 billion euros allocated for next year and another 3 billion euros in 2027.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday announced 6.5 billion euros ($7.6 billion) in extra military spending in the next two years because of new and unprecedented threats, ranging from Russia to nuclear proliferation,