French President Emmanuel Macron said France has fulfilled its "commitment to rearm" on Monday during his annual speech to the military services – his last as president – on the eve of the French July 14 national holiday.
The increase in defence budgets since Macron took office in 2017 with a focus on France’s “rearmament” is a “commitment that has been fulfilled”, the president stated Monday in his traditional address to the armed forces.
“In 2017, I announced that the defence budget would be increased, that commitments would be fulfilled, and that France and its armed forces would rise to the occasion and fulfill their duties and responsibilities ... The commitment has been fulfilled; the facts speak for themselves, and history will judge,” Macron said on the eve of the final July 14 military parade of his presidency.
Macron said that Europe was ready to defend freedom and the rule of law "at the cost of blood".
"The message we send to the world is this: Yes, peace is our goal. Yes, we cherish freedom and the rule of law. And yes, we stand ready to fight to defend them. Always, and at the cost of blood if necessary," Macron said.
Macron is later on Monday also hosting a summit of Ukraine allies known as the Coalition of the Willing for in Paris, with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky among those attending – a sign of the "strategic awakening" Europe is seeking in the face of Russia and the US under President Donald Trump.
Read moreUkraine allies gather in Paris to step up defence aid, heighten pressure on Russia
The day after this summit of 37 countries gathering heads of state and government, the same message will be symbolically reinforced at France’s military parade for the Bastille Day holiday on the Champs-Élysées.
Around 500 soldiers from coalition member states will open the July 14 parade, a tradition that is unique among Western democracies.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
