It's all hands on deck at the French Ministry of the Armed Forces. As 2023 drew to a close with some 3,000 unfilled positions, Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu decided to take charge of this increasingly troublesome issue as part of the military's drive to change gears since the start of the war in Ukraine. On Monday, March 18, Lecornu announced a vast "loyalty" plan to remedy recruitment problems, including better pay and pensions for officers.

Comprising some 40 provisions, this "360-degree" plan is largely a synthesis of measures already initiated and pre-budgeted in the 2024-2030 multiyear military budget, with €500 million specifically earmarked to contribute to the retention of military personnel. But the minister's communication on Monday was also intended as an assertive means of "winning the battle of perceptions." "It's no longer possible. We want everyone [within the Ministry] to get moving," said Lecornu's office.

One of the aims of the minister's "all-out" plan is to give visibility to projects for improving housing conditions on bases and in regiments. Only "a quarter" of the housing stock is currently considered to be in new or good condition, according to the general staff. Another of the ministry's projects is to identify, in each French department, designated doctors who will accept military patients, particularly in areas where there are medical deserts. Discussions are also underway to facilitate the movement of personnel back and forth between the armed forces and the private sector.

The main announcement made by Lecornu on Monday concerns the improvement of military pay and pensions, these issues being one of the main reasons for personnel quitting, behind housing conditions. Part of the bonuses they receive during their careers are to be integrated into pension calculations. A budget of €70 to €75 million is expected to be put on the table, with the aim of making the measure effective by 2026.

The minister also announced an acceleration in the increase of officers' salaries. Initially scheduled to run from 2025 to 2027, this will eventually be paid in full from 2025. As the enlisted ranks received pay rises in 2023 and non-commissioned officers in 2024, "we are anticipating the maneuver," said the minister's office.

This new plan presented by Lecornu is not the first within the ministry. His predecessor, Florence Parly, initiated the process in 2017 with a plan to support families and improve living conditions for military personnel, known as the "family plan," and an allocated budget of €302 million for the 2018-2022 period. A "family plan 2" was announced in February 2023 by Lecornu, with €750 million already on the table for the 2024-2030 period. But as a report by the Assemblée Nationale's Finance Committee pointed out in June 2023, much of this effort has often been subject to "poor communication."

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