Defense : The Long-Awaited Lever for Reindustrialization

Faced with the return of war in Europe and the recomposition of the world geopolitical order, France has made a historic budgetary effort to defend itself. This dynamic opens up a major industrial question: can the defense sector become the engine of a sustainable reindustrialization of the country? The French defense industrial and technological base, with its major contractors and a network of subcontracting SMEs and mid-caps, has considerable advantages. But the challenges are numerous: ramp-up of production, securing supply chains, access to finance.

This national ambition must also be part of a European dimension. The time has come to structure a European defense industrial base, between imperatives of sovereignty, logics of cooperation and risk of fragmentation. How to build a European defense while remaining competitive against the American giants and new entrants? Under what conditions can defense procurement permeate the entire industrial fabric and sustainably anchor employment and innovation in the regions?