France sets out plans to cut army by half

MARY DEJEVSKY

Paris

France's land forces, which at 240,000 men are among the largest in Western Europe, could be reduced by almost half under restructuring proposals set out in a Defence Ministry discussion document, it was revealed yesterday. If approved, the reductions would have severe implications for the French military presence in Africa and possibly also for the multinational Eurocorps, which is seen in some quarters as the kernel of a future European army.

The ministry proposals, designed to produce a leaner, fitter, more modern army, were leaked to Le Monde newspaper and form part of a paper on the implications of ending conscription that is to be considered at a meeting of the Defence Council next week. The council is chaired by President Jacques Chirac in his capacity as commander in chief of the armed forces and, while a strong national defence is a Gaullist article of faith, Mr Chirac recently suggested that compulsory military service was outmoded and backed calls for a public debate.

Half of the 240,000 troops in the land forces are conscripts. If the proposals are approved, this will be reduced to as few as 130,000, and the number of regiments from 186 to 83. The recommendation is that the number of army personnel deployed overseas should be reduced from 33,000 to 25,000, concentrated in bases in Africa, in the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and Polynesia.

The 21,600-strong 1st Armoured Division currently stationed in Germany, which comprises 14 regiments and is regarded as a major part of the French- German-Belgian-Spanish Eurocorps, would be disbanded. But the ministry was quick to try dispel doubts about the French role in Eurocorps. "It is out of the question for France to renege on its commitment to Eurocorps ... Our partners, particularly Germany, know how much France cares for the preservation and cohesion of this European military tool," it said in a statement.

In his first response to the report, the Defence Minister, Charles Millon, said that there was "no question" of abolishing the French military presence in Africa "which is necessary for our policy of guaranteeing peace in the continent". He said that it was "absolutely essential" to have advance bases in Africa, notably in Djibouti, Chad and Central Africa, and to keep treaty obligations.

Mr Millon had made it known during the summer that the combination of budgetary restrictions and modernisation requirements had prompted him to initiate a review of manpower and structures in the armed forces. Until last month, projected changes and cuts were mostly restricted to arms procurement and development programmes, funding for which has been reduced by almost one-third in the 1996 budget.

Yesterday Mr Millon confirmed that there would also be cutbacks at naval dockyards.

Last month, defence discussions spread to embrace conscription, with several leading politicians arguing across party lines that the current compulsory - though eminently avoidable - 10-month period of military service was incompatible with the requirements of a modern army and should be ended.

In cutting armed forces jobs and arms procurement programmes, however, the government has to tread carefully - it has pledged to reduce unemployment. The scaling down of defence industries could cost up to 50,000 jobs over the next five years, while the closure of up to 150 army garrisons could cripple those small towns where the army is the main employer.