French leader says the planned 2024-30 budget will change the military for the possibility of high-intensity conflicts.

The spending spree is needed to ensure “our freedom, our security, our prosperity, our place in the world”, said Macron.

The budget for the period will stand at 413 billion euros ($447bn), up from 295 billion euros ($320bn) in 2019-2025, which means by 2030 France’s military budget would have doubled since he took power in 2017.

The money would notably go to modernising France’s nuclear arsenal.

Although France is the world’s third-biggest arms exporter and the European Union’s sole nuclear power, it has come under criticism for not sending more weapons to Kyiv.

Macron also said France would pay particular attention to its military presence in overseas territories, especially in the Asia-Pacific where new threats were emerging.

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