- WIADOMOŚCI
France needs a military-industrial shock
France is speaking about strategic autonomy, but it still does not use military procurement as a real industrial weapon. In artificial intelligence and robotics, the next industrial revolution is already under way. If Paris does not act at scale, it will remain dependent on others in the very technologies that will decide future wars.
The argument is simple but uncomfortable for France, as Les Echos stated. Artificial intelligence is becoming the brain of modern power, while robotics is becoming its body. Ukraine has already shown what this means on the battlefield: drones, algorithmic targeting, automated systems, battlefield data and rapid adaptation. A state that does not control its own AI and robotic capabilities will depend on foreign suppliers for its defence.
France has important assets. Mistral is one of the few serious European actors in large language models. Wandercraft has shown that European humanoid robotics can move from concept to industry, including with robots already used at Renault’s Douai factory. The problem is not the absence of talent. The problem is the absence of a state order large enough to turn these companies into strategic industrial champions.
Germany has understood this faster and Berlin wants to reach 3.5% of GDP in defence spending by 2029 and is already using military procurement to restructure its industrial base. German start-ups such as Helsing are receiving large framework contracts and building combat drone capabilities. France, despite its ambitions, still disperses money across limited contracts and small experiments.
This is not enough. A few million euros for robotics trials will not build factories. A limited AI contract for ministry staff will not justify sovereign computing infrastructure. If France wants military AI and robotics, the state must guarantee long-term orders: thousands of systems, dedicated data centres, military models and a supply chain built inside France.
The legal tools already exist. Article 346 of the European treaties allows states to protect national security interests in defence procurement. Paris can therefore launch major national programmes in defence AI and military robotics without pretending that the market alone will solve the problem. France built nuclear, aerospace and space capabilities through state direction, not through scattered pilot projects.
The risk is strategic decline. For instance, Nvidia is now worth more than the entire French listed corporate sector, while key components for robotics still come from Japan or China because French volumes do not justify domestic production. Military orders can change that calculation. If France wants sovereignty, it must buy at scale. Otherwise, it will watch Germany, the United States and China define the next industrial and military era.
