Macron puts local defense firms on notice France may buy European

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron fired a warning shot to the country’s defense industry, saying France’s armed forces could turn to European suppliers if those can deliver equipment faster or more efficiently, as the country seeks to bolster its military. With global threats increasing, France needs to speed up its rearmament, the president told gathered military personnel in a New Year’s speech at Istres Air Base in southern France. “To remain free, one must be feared.

To be feared, one must be powerful,” Macron said. “And to be powerful in such brutal world, one must act faster and strike harder.” Macron said Europe needs to develop very long-range strike capability in order to deter Russia, whose Oreskhnik intermediate-range missile puts European countries in range of an attack,