The years 2015 and 2016 are marked by strong national and international security tensions. These tensions have had consequences at the operational level - including the unprecedented deployment of military personnel on national territory - at the social level linked to the increased sensitivity of citizens to defence issues, and at the budgetary level.

The editorial charter of the Annuaire statistique de la défense published by the Observatoire économique de la défense de la Financial Affairs Directorate is being redesigned to make it clearer and more comprehensive. It thus contributes to the debate public by supplying the players with reliable figures and keys for reading them.

The 2016 edition contains more analysis and perspective on the data through thematic fact sheets. synthetic. These sheets are presented in the form of two facing pages, providing a side of the text and on the other side of the main data of the topic being dealt with.

This synthesis operation is structured six main chapters: defence in the national economy, the main budgetary data and accountants of the Ministry of Defence, defence assets, defence manpower, industrial aspects of defence, international comparisons of the place of defence in the major industrialised countries.

This broad panorama on defence and its place in the economy is the result of collaborative work with many players in the defence industry. ministry, let them be thanked here.

An in-depth study file is now included in the directory. The dossier in this edition is devoted to the place de la Défense in the French regions. To meet the expectations of the readers of the Annuaire statistique de la défense, the main elements present in previous editions of the Yearbook are maintained, in particular the budgetary data.

Mr Christophe Mauriet