French Defense Ministry publishes 2020 key figures

The French Ministry of Defense publishes its annual document presenting the major data of its action in recent months. What budget allocated to Defense? How many soldiers deployed on mission? What means implemented during the health crisis? All the key figures can be found in the released document.
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Key figures 2020 booklet published by the French Ministry of Defense (Picture source: French MoD)

As stipulated in the Military Programming Law (LPM) 2019-2025, the budget allocated to the Ministry of Defense was revised upwards in 2020. It thus amounted to 37.5 billion euros, i.e. 1.7 billion more than last year. “Behind these credits, there are men and women, civilian and military personnel from the Ministry of Defense, but also new modernized equipment, projects to improve family life, training to guide the orientation of young people, innovations to accelerate the energy transition ”, explains Florence Parly, Minister of Defense, in the key figures for Defense 2020.

A year dedicated to the fight against the health crisis

The Covid-19 crisis deeply marked the first half of 2020. As the Minister of Defense recalls, “more than 2,000 patients with the virus were hospitalized in the eight army instruction hospitals” and “20% of patient transfers were carried out by our armies ”, not to mention the 5 million masks delivered to the Ministry of Solidarity and Health and the deployment of three amphibious helicopter carriers (PHA) at The Reunion, Mayotte and in the Antilles/Guyana region, and three Airbus A400Ms in the Antilles, Guyana and French Polynesia. Operation Resilience, launched on March 25, thus effectively contributed to the fight against the spread of the virus and to the treatment of patients.

A Ministry of the Armed Forces invested on several fronts

In recent months, several subjects have particularly mobilized the teams of the Ministry of Defense. Among them, the ecological transition was placed at the heart of ministerial concerns. The Defense energy strategy thus dedicated the mobilization of 2,000 ha of military land for the installation of photovoltaic farms by 2022.

In addition, despite the Covid-19 crisis, deliveries of equipment essential to the performance of missions continued: 17 VBMR Griffon APCs for the Army, six Rafale F3R fighter jets for the Navy and one Airbus A400M Atlas for the Air and Space Army (air force).

At the same time, support to companies has been particularly developed with, among other things, the creation of a task force dedicated to preserving strategic industries working for the benefit of Defense and the 200,000 related jobs.

Better consideration of the living conditions of soldiers and their families

Launched by the Ministry of Defense on October 31, 2017, the Family plan ensures better consideration of the living conditions of soldiers and those around them. Of the 55 actions it planned to take, most are now effective.

"61,372 is the number of non-commissioned members in the Army; 102 is the Air Force Rafale number; 3 is the number of Navy amphibious helicopter carriers; 2,000 ha is the area of military land that the Ministry of the Armed Forces has devoted to the installation of photovoltaic farms; 5 million is the number of masks that were delivered to the Ministry of Solidarity and Health during the COVID-19 crisis. These numbers are more telling than a grand speech; and that is the spirit of this Key Figures booklet. "