France to close 50 military bases

The scale of French defence cuts have been revealed and will see 50 bases and facilities closed, 54,000 jobs cut and 83 units closed. This will save nearly 2 billion euros a year which it is claimed will be invested back in the French armed forces. Total defence expenditure from 2009 to 2020 will be 377 billion euros.


I suspect the cuts won't mean a return to these days

The defence changes are part of an effort to restructure the French forces away from a conscript to a career mentality and to improve the effectiveness of the armed forces to match the current strategic need. The French defence minister Herve Morin has already noted that only 40% of French military personnel are in operational roles the opposite of the ratio here in the UK but God help the French armed forces if they are going to use us as a template for their restructure.