Dn many French ammunition depots, the shelves are empty. “We don’t have the quantity that would allow us to support a long-term conflict,” warns Christian Cambon, chairman of the Senate Defense Committee. Fighter pilot, Raphaël Briant is co-author of a report entitled “The mass in the French armies: a challenge for high intensity”, published by the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) in June 2021.
Its conclusions have notably been used since the invasion of Ukraine by French deputies and senators to assess the state of readiness of the forces for a major conflict. Among the challenges to be met, the question of ammunition is crucial: without a sufficient stock, it would be impossible for armies to hold more than…