The French defence industry suffers from a poor public image. However, it has never been doing better and has even broken export sales records, with an impressive figure of 14 billion euros in 2016. France thus became the third largest arms exporter in 2017, behind the United States and Russia. And in 2018, Paris could even outstrip Moscow, in a context of contraction of the world market after years of growth.

To do so, our country has benefited from the excellent order intake for the years 2012-2017, marked in particular by the sale of Rafales to Qatar, India and Egypt, which also bought a FREMM frigate.

The latest signature to date confirms Doha's intention to acquire 12 additional Rafales for a total of one billion dollars. In total, Dassault is to deliver no less than 96 aircraft for export after a long period without a customer.And sales are not limited to aeronautics, since Paris also exports armoured vehicles (490 VBCI-type armoured vehicles re1.5 billion euros in Doha) or submarines ("the contract of the century" of 35 billion euros signed with Australia).

These commercial successes allow some to predict: "The defence industry, which accounts for some 165,000 direct and indirect jobs, is a major source of employment for the European Union. indirect costs currently, will exceed 200,000 by 20182 ", which is as much as the automotive sector.

However, no major defence contract can be concluded without substantial financial support, given its strategic nature and amount; this wager on the future must therefore be supported in the long term by financial institutions. However, banking institutions, which are essential for the proper conduct of defence business, too often fail.

Indeed, some investors, concerned about their image, avoid intervening in "vice businesses", including those related to defence. In particular, banking organisations, which are essential in supporting defence exports and acquiring stakes in companies in the sector, are at the forefront of this retreat into an area considered to be a sulphurous one.

Such financial shrinkage constitutes a real danger for national strategic autonomy insofar as it exposes SMEs with technological applications of military interest (artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, Internet of Things, etc.) to takeovers by foreign investors.As the Strategic Review on Defence and National Security pointed out: "maintaining the vitality of [our] ecosystem is a sovereignty issue. […]

This industrial and technological engine irrigates the economy and contributes to the influence and influence of France in the world. Consequently, the DITB must be supported and maintained at all levels (start-ups, SMEs, ETIs, large groups). This support is provided through long-term policies in the areas of research and investment, cooperation, export support, acquisition and protection against foreign investment". Strategic autonomy and DITB therefore go hand in hand.

In this perspective, the State must intervene to fill a real lack of financial dynamism to support the independence of our actors. and their export ambitions. This need was recently illustrated by the launch of the "Definvest" fund on 16 October 2017 by the Minister of Armed Forces.es and BPI France, in collaboration with the French Armament Procurement Agency (DGA) and the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, for an amount of 50 million euros. It is now necessary to deepen the approach in order to work towards national strategic autonomy and for the benefit of a dynamic industrial sector...

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