After several months of work, the French General Secretariat for Defense and National Security published, on Monday, July 14, a new National Strategic Review (RNS) at the request of President Emmanuel Macron. Traditionally, this policy document has allowed the government to adjust its priorities and support new budgetary objectives, as Macron did on Sunday, by announcing a further increase in defense spending through 2027. The previous version of the RNS dated to 2022 and was drafted hastily at the onset of the war in Ukraine. This new edition is intended as the result of more considered – though no less concerned – reflection on the projects to be launched by 2030 to address the state of the world.
In his New Year's address to the armed forces in January, Macron had requested that this RNS, only part of which is made public, should outline "the contours of our comprehensive defense and rearmament, including moral rearmament." Six months later, this has been achieved with a document of around 100 pages built around 11 "strategic objectives" – one more than in 2022. At the forefront of these objectives – which remain largely unchanged – are nuclear deterrence, "resilience" challenges for the nation, and the demands of a war economy. But the 2025 version of the RNS adds an 11th objective: "academic, scientific and technological excellence."
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