"It's a win-win": France takes part in the war in Ukraine

Last Friday, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu stated that two French-based companies in the automotive and defence sectors would be producing drones on Ukrainian territory. He specifically highlighted a "win-win" partnership with Ukraine.

"We're embarking on a completely new partnership where a major company that manufactures French cars – I won't name it because it's for them to announce – is teaming up with a French defence SME to set up production lines in Ukraine to be able to manufacture drones," announced Sébastien Lecornu on the French TV channel LCI.

These drones will be used by Ukrainians, "but we will also ensure our own French armed forces benefit, so we can always have tactical and operational training that matches the reality" of the war in Ukraine, he explained.

France wants to catch up

According to the French minister, the Ukrainians "are better than us at coming up with drone innovations and, above all, developing the doctrine behind them". In 2025, Kyiv plans to deploy more than 4.5 million drones, which will account for 70% of the damage and destruction of Russian equipment on the front line.

France is looking to catch up in this field. While it has a few thousand drones, the French army does not (yet) have the resources required to meet its needs. "The system is still too rigid, too slow, from the time the French armed forces make a request to the time drones are delivered," Lecornu noted, demanding a "review of all our drone programmes".

(MH with Manon Pierre - Source: L’Indépendant - Illustration: ©Unsplash)