DÉFENSE ZONE
Like all journalists (and all citizens), we at the Défense Zone newsroom are following the presidential election period closely. At the time of writing, not all candidates have officially declared (starting with President Emmanuel Macron), and this article will be updated as news comes in.
The aim of this article is to bring you a little clarity and give you verified and sourced information, highlighting what interests you most: defence and security.
Before discussing the candidates’ announcements and programmes, it is worth going back over the timetable of this election period.
Key dates of the presidential campaign
1 January 2022: The Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (Arcom) starts monitoring the speaking and airtime of the candidates and their supporters, in the name of the principle of equal treatment between candidates.
30 January 2022 (at the latest): Start of the sponsorship period, the day after publication of the decree convening the electorate, “at least ten weeks before the date of the first round” (law of 29 March 2021).
4 March 2022: Close of the sponsorship period (at 6 p.m.) and deadline for registering on the electoral rolls (except for the exceptional registrations (new window) provided for in Article L 30 of the Electoral Code). The deadline for online registration is 2 March.
11 March 2022 (at the latest): Publication of the list of candidates, drawn up by the Constitutional Council, “no later than the fourth Friday before the first round of voting” (law of 29 March 2021).
28 March 2022: Start of the official campaign, on the second Monday before the first round.
9 April 2022: End of the official campaign for the first round (electoral propaganda is banned from midnight on 8 April).
10 April 2022: First round of the presidential election. In Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin and French Polynesia, voters cast their ballots the day before to take account of the time difference.
14 April 2022: (at the latest) Decision of the Constitutional Council validating the results of the election and drawing up the list of the two candidates entitled to stand in the second round.
15 April 2022: Start of the official campaign for the second round.
23 April 2022: End of the official campaign for the second round (electoral propaganda is banned from midnight on 22 April).
24 April 2022: Second round of the presidential election (the day before for some voters living in a different time zone).
28 April 2022 (at the latest): Decision of the Constitutional Council validating the results of the election and official proclamation of the new President of the Republic.
13 May 2022 (at the latest): Handover of power. The Constitution gives no indication of this date. The newly elected president takes office no later than the last day of the outgoing president’s term.
Source: vie-publique.fr
The proposals of the 2022 presidential candidates
For the sake of clarity and explanation, we have grouped the candidates’ proposals by main theme.
For information, it may be useful to take a look at the proposals of the same candidates at the last presidential election, in 2017. Click here to see them.
Ending Operation Barkhane
While President Emmanuel Macron has already announced the end of Operation Barkhane, several candidates have already addressed this subject, which concerns many service personnel.
As a reminder, we produced a full feature on Barkhane here.
The far-left candidates are largely in favour. Jean-Luc Mélenchon wrote on his blog in early 2021: “If you want to make savings or transfer spending, go and look in the war chest. Need I remind you that a single day of war in Afghanistan would be enough to pay for the schooling of every child in that country? And every day of military presence in Mali costs one hundred million euros.”
It is important to note that the actual cost of the French military presence in Mali is in fact €3 to 4 million a day (source).
Abolishing the BAC and the BRAV and disarming the police
Another recurring proposal from the far left, such as another statement by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who wants “a police force as disarmed as possible so that it inspires respect”, or Philippe Poutou (NPA), who wants “the abolition of the special repression units (BAC, BRAV…)” (source).
However, another candidate from this side of the political spectrum, Fabien Roussel (PCF), wants to create a 30,000-strong community police force to “win back certain neighbourhoods abandoned by the State”. The candidate wants to revive this doctrine for the employment of the French National Police, introduced from 1998 and gradually scrapped from 2003 by Nicolas Sarkozy (source).
Several other candidates also want this community police force, notably Arnaud Montebourg and Valérie Pécresse (LR).
Last November, the latter declared (source): “We will give the justice system more resources with 16,000 additional recruits, including 5,000 magistrates. We will build 20,000 prison places and we will put €1 billion a year into equipment for the law-enforcement agencies.”
The Macron government announced that it was well on the way to recruiting 10,000 law-enforcement personnel (7,500 police officers and 2,500 gendarmes) by the end of the five-year term (source). Emmanuel Macron declared last September: “There is nowhere the police do not go. The idea that the police are afraid and that the Republic does not enter certain neighbourhoods is false.”
Increasing the number of service personnel and the armed forces’ resources
For some candidates such as Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, the French armed forces’ budget must rise from 2% of GDP to 2.5% (source). In addition, the “Debout la France” candidate wants to recruit 40,000 more service personnel, build a second aircraft carrier, double the number of first-rank frigates (from 15 to 30), buy 25 more Rafales, improve through-life support (MCO) and launch a build-up of the land operational force (FOT).
Jean Lassalle goes even further, wanting to increase the number of reservists in the armed forces from 70,000 to 200,000. He also proposes creating a fourth service for cyber defence (source).
A little further to the right, Florian Philippot (formerly of the Front National) tweeted that he wanted to double the defence budget (source).
Leaving NATO
It is a given for Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, Florian Philippot and Jean Lassalle, and also a point in common between Mélenchon and Éric Zemmour, who said on BFM: “We completely agree on this, NATO has become a machine serving the countries that are supposedly the allies of the United States but are in fact merely beholden to them, and which must submit and even be treated brutally, as we saw in this Australian affair” (source).
Defence industry and armament
The recent sale of Rafales to the United Arab Emirates has highlighted disagreements between some candidates over French defence-industry exports.
“France shames us when it arms authoritarian regimes that despise human rights and whose wealth was built on fossil fuels,” criticised Yannick Jadot on Twitter. The Europe Écologie Les Verts candidate was joined by Philippe Poutou: “Really nothing to be proud of! It’s scandalous. But typical of a cynical, profiteering, militaristic capitalism. Arms sales should be banned and medicines and vaccines distributed instead to the people of the countries of the South.” Éric Zemmour, meanwhile, declared: “Well done to Dassault, Thales and Safran for the sale of 80 Rafales” (source).
Infographics: the candidates’ proposals (30 days before the first round)
We have deliberately limited this presentation to the 5 candidates leading in the polls.
Here are their proposals 30 days before the first round of the election.
