French Army Slows Recruitment Amid Budget Constraints and Major Equipment Shortfalls

The French Army has so many applicants that it has had to slow recruitment while lacking hardware ranging from spare parts to deep-fires weaponry and counter-drone defense, deputy chief of staff Gen. Patrick Justel said at a briefing in Paris on Thursday. “This year, we’re already slowing down recruitment because not only are we recruiting better, but we’re retaining people better,” Justel said.

The service declined to recruit the equivalent of a regiment last year due to budgetary constraints. France faces a different challenge from Germany and Poland, which have ample funding for equipment but struggle to attract enough personnel to meet force targets, Justel said. “We have completely asymmetrical situations,” he said.

“I see in Poland and Germany a huge budgetary and industrial effort to acquire weapons. ” Germany aims to expand its armed forces to 260,000 active soldiers by 2035 from about 186,000 now, according to a federal law governing Bundeswehr force development. Poland intends to increase its armed forces to 300,000 from around 210,000 in mid-2025.

France has a force of around 191,000 military personnel and plans to recruit 21,400 active-duty troops in 2026. The Army has identified the equivalent of about ten battalions needed to be more effective in areas including command, logistics, deep fires, drones and electronic warfare.

The French Army continues to lack spare parts and stockpiles and has “very significant gaps” in deep fires, ground-to-air defense, counter-drone operations, and electronic warfare, Justel said.

France’s two most recent defense-planning laws improved the equipment situation a lot, and the Army’s armored-vehicle modernization is “progressing well,” he added. 7% for Germany and 5% for Poland. Trust in the armed forces stands at 84% in France, compared with 73% of Germans and 76% of Poles, according to a Eurobarometer poll published in May.

“To see the number of young people coming to enlist, and not enlisting just to find a job, they’re joining to serve in combat units and looking to defend their country,” Justel said. ” European NATO members have lifted defense budgets following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and as the United States pushes for allies to take on more conventional defense.

While many countries including France are expanding reserve forces, Germany and Poland also plan to grow active-duty personnel by tens of thousands in coming years.

U.S. troops in parts of Europe, with the Army already “very committed” with deployments in Romania and Estonia. The French Army is instead counting on regular exercises in countries such as Finland rather than permanent basing, to ensure troops are familiar with the terrain, conditions and local friendly forces, Justel said.