This booklet is a summary of the main figures concerning the Ministry of the Armed Forces. It presents budgetary data, personnel numbers, equipment available in the armed forces as well as the forces deployed outside metropolitan France.

For the past year, the President of the Republic has been very clear about his ambition for our Armed Forces: to increase their strength by raising the national defence effort to 2% of GDP by 2025. The budget of the Ministry of the Armed Forces for 2018 is a first step in this dynamic, which will continue through the new military programming law for 2019-2025, which plans to devote €295 billion to defence between now and 2025.

Budgetary appropriations for 2018 have already been increased by €1.8 billion, bringing the total for the "Defence" mission to €34.2 billion (€34.4 billion including income from disposals). In total, the national defence effort is increased to 1.82% of GDP, including pensions, compared to 1.78% in 2017.

This unprecedented increase in the budget, three times higher than the increase between 2016 and 2017, gives the armed forces the resources they need to pursue their mission in the service of the defence of France and the French people, both at home and abroad.

Although they have been committed beyond their operational contracts, the armed forces will be able, thanks to this budget, to begin a regeneration of their military capabilities.While they have been sustainably committed beyond their operational contracts, thanks to this budget, the armed forces will be able to begin to regenerate their operational capital, continue to strengthen their intelligence and cyber defence capabilities and speed up the maintenance and modernisation of their equipment.

Because there are no strong soldiers without happy families, this 2018 budget will also make it possible to better support the military and their families through the Family Plan and to ensure enhanced support for the status of the Ministry's personnel.

These are all priorities that will be pursued and accentuated by the 2019-2025 Military Programming Act. A law at "human level" that repairs the shortcomings of the past and resolutely prepares our armies for the conflicts of tomorrow.

Florence Parly
Minister for the Armed Forces