France launches defence white paper

French President Nicolas Sarkozy formally launched a new defence white paper on August 23, meeting commission members at the presidential palace and assigning them the task of preparing the document, which will set France’s policy objectives and the future military budget law.

The white paper is only the third such policy document to be drafted since the present Fifth Republic was constituted in 1958. The previous reports were in 1972 and 1994.

“We have to build the security and defence of tomorrow as a function of needs, not as a function of habits and pre-established certainties,” Sarkozy said in a speech setting the outlines of the commission’s work.

A parliamentary defence expert said it was the first time a French defence white paper had extended to national security, enlarging the scope of the report. The international and European dimensions to be taken into account were also significant, he said.

Sarkozy called for confidentiality in the preparation of the document and a canvassing of a wide body of opinion from political, professional and other sectors of society.

The commission should hold public hearings, to avoid closed circles and backroom dealings, he said. Scientists, philosophers and sociologists should be approached for their opinions, he said, and foreign experts, especially Europeans, should be consulted.

Sarkozy pointed to the European, trans-Atlantic and international context of the French defence posture.

“I ask you to propose an up-to-date global strategy of defence and national security which guarantees the national interests in the event of a strategic surprise threat,” he said.

The president announced the members of the commission July 31 and assigned Jean-Claude Mallet, a top government official, to lead the group.

Guy Teissier, the head of the defence committee of the National Assembly, said, “This exercise should be undertaken without any taboos or complacency, and with a particular regard to the consolidation of our national defence industry.”

Source: DefenseNews.com

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