Why France is Preparing for War

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France’s armed forces are one of the most powerful and combat tested in Europe. But there’s one problem. Two and a half decades ago when they had their last major transformation it shrank their military’s size and budget.
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Video Edited by: Michael Michaelides
French defense spending as a percentage of their GDP from 1960 to today going from 5.4% in 1960 to 1.8% in 2019. A similar trend happened throughout most western countries. This made perfect sense at the time the Soviet Union had just collapsed and it seemed the world had never been safer.
To kick start their defense industry back into high gear France's President Emmanuel Macron recently unveiled a new 6 year defense budget which will now total $450 billion dollars, representing nearly a 40% increase. France is 6th in the world for defense spending by Purchasing power parity and climbing. But you might be surprised to learn the new plan doesn’t call for any major increase in force size, strangely it doesn’t ask for a massive boost in production of new tanks. This has caused a major debate both inside the French defense establishment and outside observers about whether the additional funds are being spent effectively. So what capabilities and weapon systems will French Gen. Pierre Schill actually invest in? And how is French President Macron attempting to position himself as one of the top leaders of European Security?
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[@Taskandpurpose]

Go to www.aafmaa.com for your life insurance, wealth management and VA mortgage needs. Whether you just enlisted or retired long ago, your financial security is the goal of AAFMAA.

[@krisskross9994]

yooooooo 🎉

[@thepny_chasseur_de_tricera5361]

6:10 It's MICHEL not michael Goya 😭 Ww1 French didn't surrender ? The battleship number are not right ?

[@machintrucGaming]

You've made a small mistake. The rafale are only stationed at 3 airbases in france...

[@ninemimesleft]

Does this life insurance pay out in the event I get vaporized the nuclear war Macron is trying to drag us into?

[@rocko7711]

🇫🇷🇺🇸🇺🇦

[@3pAcsJs]

That Napoleon movie got France all riled up 😂

[@Taskandpurpose]

What’s the saying, History repeats its rhymes ?

[@gabegaram6047]

[@twojcik3180]

It was terrible, sadly. Scott simply forgot that its not Avatar 3 but real story of real person. Such an opportunity wasted.

[@bentrinker1937]

Nah the Frenchmen has an unquenchable thirst for “la gloire”

[@flanneldaddyttv7279]

@@Taskandpurpose “History Doesn't Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes” - Mark Twain

[@12gark]

France is not investing into tanks and land troops, because that's where Germany and Poland are investing. France role in a war where the EU is fighting alone would be nuclear deterrence, providing 1 carrier strike group (realistically for use in the Atlantic or North Sea) and keep trade line open with the UK and the US. Italy would focus on securing the Med (and as you can see, Italy is investing most of its resources on the Navy, keeping 2 "carriers" capable of launching F35B) and Germany and Poland would be the one providing the bulk of tanks (Germany) and mechanized infantry (Poland will have one if the largest mobile infantry corps in the world in a couple of years time) for the main front. It's the first time I'm aware of where European nations are preparing to fight against a foreign enemy and splitting the roles so clearly.

[@Forien]

And Finland would provide Artillery and Sweden Airforce

[@t-dawg894]

Where did you get this info? Thanks.

[@12gark]

@@t-dawg894it's all very public information actually. I don't have a single source to point out, but for example, look at new military vehicles under development: Poland is putting a lot of effort into IFVs (also look at the announced numbers...), Rheinmetall is developing a new Leopard III (yes, it's a private venture, but they are not stupid, they must have some ideas on where the increased military spending announced by the German government will go before embarking into a private venture on something nobody in the west did for 40 years, a brand new tank...). France is targeting production of a new carrier soon (let's be honest, the CdG wasn't exaclty a success...), and Italy has just replaced Garibaldi (that was comically small and very obsolete) with the brand new Trieste and both project required and will require a lot of money to be combat capable and have enough aircrafts to be useful. most likely, cut will be done elsewhere (and the fact that both countries have undewhelming tank forces and no plan to improve the situation is very telling). You clearly see a pattern there if you put all the info together. most EU nations are putting more resources into one branch or the other, and my guess is that there is a reason and it's not just rolling the dices.

[@TheArmkill]

Nailed it!

[@Jugement]

@@Forien Realistically nordics would mostly provide femboys. Lets be real for a minute, you guys sure are cute, but you weight nothing in the grand scheme of things

[@paulbehan7321]

Very well done !!! 👏 you were right on the money !! Very well explained

[@pselden2103]

Appreciate the thoughtful perspectives.

[@dl6519]

Um... France didn't surrender in World War One. They DID get their @$$€$ handed to them in the Franco-Prussian War, and were eager for a re-match, which we know as World War One. That re-match didn't exactly follow the French script, shall we say, but they didn't surrender.

[@based8223]

That was so long ago, nobody cares.

[@brunol-p_g8800]

Well, in the end France litteraly was the big winner of World War One, and forced Germany into surrendering by kicking their asses on the Western Front and its allies’ asses, Bulgaria and the Austro-Hungarian empire on the southern front.

[@Max11B]

I noticed you didn’t mention how quick you folded in WW2 😂

[@greysjorgens1128]

@@based8223 Well you should, history is important for anyone who isn't a gibbering moron.

[@tomriley5790]

Not really true, France did not expect to be attacked in World war One and Germany did not want to attack them either. Austria Hungary having failled to provide protection for their Prince believed it had full support from Germany to back up their aggressiveness against Serbia and the Russians believed they'd not been aggressive enough in previous disputes so mobilised. Because of German success in getting the army into the field first in the Franco Prussian war and the victory Germany believed if the Russians got in the field before them they'd loose, they even asked the British to get the Russians to stop mobilising, when the Russians didn't stop mobilising the Germans did and then believing they'd end up in a 2 front war decided to attack france first and knock them out (prewar strategists believed any future war would be highly destructive mobile and short as the desructiveness of modern weapons - artilery shells and machine guns meant that any defences would be destroyed. Obviously this was not the case in the West and you ended up with a static war, on the Eastern front though the war was highly mobile. Germany was only defeated on the western front because they were forced (by immient arrival of more US forces) to attack from their prepared positions into open fields.

[@TheDCGuitar13]

The French and the polish are the only ones who accept that the Americans won’t paytheir defense bills forever and took matters into their own hands. I respect that a lot. Edit: what a lively thread. Didn’t think there would be this much engagement. I should’ve written this better. When I say “only ones” I mean out of the heavyweight economies in Europe. Plenty of the smaller nations especially in Eastern Europe definitely take their security seriously. We love you guys across the pond. It’s why we help. We just grow tried of being told how inferior our quality of life is when so much of our tax money is going to funding the security of larger nato countries who don’t even take our contributions seriously.

[@bigolboomerbelly4348]

Meanwhile you expect Europe to pay for your federal budget.

[@christianterraes8334]

Oui mais là France devient ridicule un état hyper endetté ne peut prétendre à être une puissance militaire. Sous le général de Gaulle durant les années 60 oui ! 😊

[@chriauc2976]

@@christianterraes8334ah les excuses pour simplement suivre et reagir et encore perdre sera la resultante Et arrive les russes

[@marktisdale7935]

@bigolboomerbelly4348 Who the heck in Europe or anywhere else in the world is sending aid to America?

[@Dddd-zb3ui]

Respect for what? By going to war against a country they do it have differences but for the benefit for US hegemony in Europe. What does France have to gain by going to war with Russia other than serve US global interests?

[@arichster]

Outstanding. So important to understand the realities of such a critical ally. Merci.

[@billholemo2518]

Great, fast moving concise report!!😊 Bravo!!

[@mathieu8641]

As a French citizen and quite aware of what’s been going on with our army I can tell this video is pretty accurate and extensive. Well done. 👍

[@humansvd3269]

Like President Brandon, you guys need to vote this guy out.

[@Jimmy-qb1xr]

Fight for the farmers instead.

[@Sharpie1111100]

@@Jimmy-qb1xr could not agree more

[@peope1976]

Much respect and gratitude - from a Swede. I hope my country will reciprocate and in proportionality do even more.

[@pickititllneverheal9016]

​@@Sharpie1111100😂😂😂 Belly laughing. 100% accurate.

[@andrewsolnitzky9637]

Wait wait wait…. Did you say France had over 1000 battleships in 1991??? I think you might just mean boats in the water and are using the term battleships out of context

[@jeremiahmorris1852]

The French hold a lot of overseas territory

[@sleepingninjaquiettime]

I think Cappy was correct

[@Felto123]

Well there are no "Battleships" in any world navy so there is that.

[@sleepingninjaquiettime]

Now I'm thinking you're right

[@sleepingninjaquiettime]

Yes, he meant warships. Damn it, so my kayak can't be upgraded to battleship?

[@israeljudah]

Excellent, informative, educational, and interesting content. I'm now a new subscriber. Looking forward to seeing more videos. I will inform others of this channel. Excellent Work my friend 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Continue On✌🏽2024-til

[@jimsack1]

Excellent. Thank you.

[@edl653]

Can you do a similar analysis of the British military? Their ground forces are even smaller.

[@TitouFromMars]

And with similar issues: financial arbitration between nuclear and conventional forces, force reduction, return to a model adapted to high-intensity warfare...

[@Taskandpurpose]

Yes after Poland and Germany

[@gabegaram6047]

[@lintlickers]

@@Taskandpurposelol, gotteem, love from PA, brother

[@W1LLi4m_]

The British have a military?

[@conservativemike3768]

I flew with the French Air Force during a lengthy deployment, and found them both highly skilled and intellectually impressive.

[@donaldshotts4429]

My experience was the same with both the French and the Brits as a KC-135 boom operator. The French air force would gain air supremacy over Ukraine in less then a month

[@conservativemike3768]

@@donaldshotts4429 They also got all the women.. at least when the Italian Air Force guys weren’t around.

[@paulheydarian1281]

​@@conservativemike3768 🤔😏😂

[@sorin_ion8151]

​@@donaldshotts4429 Stop smoking crack. Russia is unmatched in air defence . It will shot down anything than comes into sight .

[@lioneldemun6033]

​@@donaldshotts4429in your dreams ukrobot

[@johnwinskie7911]

Thank you, Chris! Very interesting and informative!

[@trumanhw]

It's idiotic nonsense by someone brimming with confirmation bias.

[@OneSockFellOff]

Thank you!

[@haroldhyman1363]

Remarkable quality job! I am a French geopolitical and international affairs journalist, I found your presentation on "Why France is Preparing for War" to be outstanding. My compliments.

[@unknownpirate3290]

We are not bailing you out this time. Ef around and find out.

[@FrenchViking466]

​​@@unknownpirate3290 Dial down your arrogance, your country exists because of France.

[@livinglifetothefullest22]

Are you a BLIND JOURNALIST??? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@georgisirakovbg4979]

and if you are such a professional you should say they will clash because of the african frecnh colonies that are now under russian control

[@jmipraimundo]

So you know why this war

[@user-uj9cc5ch5p]

War is scary, there is no glory to it at all. Personally I hope I never have to see a war. Mr. X

[@joshrandall5297]

Life is scary. 😂

[@Mario-xr3jo]

Completely agree. But how can anyone stop Putin?

[@hartssquire9386]

War is scary, but the glory comes and goes. Throughout history, war hasn't looked like how it does today. Early in African history war was basically just a dick swinging contest where everyone threw spears from a distance before charging in and trying to send the enemy running, it was fairly common for everyone to make it home from a "battle" with some pretty nasty wounds. Later, the Romans saw glory in taking land and valuables to enrich their families and home city. Glory in the riches of war, in the process of conquest. And later after that in the medieval period war was a political tool, the glory in war was showing your loyalty to your Lord, to be an indispensable tool in their political toolkit in exchange for having your home life taken care of (to varying degrees, be it living on the Lords farm or in a fortified castle) Much like everything else these days the glory in war is gone because we're just going through the motions, the average person has no reason to know or care why were going to war and so they only see its horror, and that horror has only grown as weapons have become more lethal than our squishy human bodies can keep up with. War is a horror, but war is a horror we invented. It's not a natural part of humanity, it is nature stretched and distorted to fit our convenience

[@samildanach9188]

@@ad686 Lol I don't like Macron at all, but you seem to forget that Russia declared war on Ukraine then decided to do shit in Africa. Not about Putin, really?

[@2020sII]

@@ad686Theres multiple reasons, surely you cant be saying russias invasion has nothing to do with this preparation at all

[@knoll9812]

Excellent article packed full of stuff

[@Risingstar0324]

Great reporting

[@ronaldhunt7617]

For the love of God please do Germany next, you know the country that went from over 7000 tanks during the same period to less than 300 today. The same country that became absolutely dependent on Russian energy while demanding the US protect them from Russia at the same time. The fifth largest GDP that can not even meet the 2 percent of GDP they agreed to.

[@asiancinemabuns8203]

The last time they heavily militarized it resulted in them partition to 2 halves

[@CCC-nf3bk]

I think you missed the part about invading its neighbourgs and comitting a genocide​@@asiancinemabuns8203

[@EarthForces]

​@asiancinemabuns8203 you are essentially dismissing the current state of internal politics in Germany in relation to their military. They still have to do that anyway, considering Russia is essentially the very mirror of the former German Empire.

[@yam2050]

they didnt demand US protection, US is in germany because of rise of communism and to keep germany under check.

[@CAARLcseditsandmore]

Germany does not require the US to protect us from Russia or anyone else. Its been the geopolitical goal of the UK since 1871 and of the US since 1914, that Russia and germany (and West-europe) stay divided. Oh and by the way, we are the 3rd largest country by GDP. The reason Germanys army declined after 1990 is that the UK (magaret thatcher) and france were scared shitless that the GDR and West-Germany reunite, which is why they demanded that Germany had to reduce their military assets and dispose most of the military equipment. In addition to that you seem to forgot that germany has US nuclear bombs strapped to their planes since the Coldwar, which arent meant to be used on our own merrit, but to protect the US, which made germany always the first strike target during the Coldwar. The US doesnt hold single military base anywhere in the world for "democracy" or "peace", its geopolitical chess to profit the rich, paid with the blood of young american men with honorable intentions. The US is just an empire like the UK used to be or the Roman Empire.

[@blakkill8221]

Bonjour ; pour une fois que je n'entends pas du "French bashing", cela me fait particulièrement chaud au coeur. Un grand merci donc pour Task & Purpose, d'autant plus que cette video est particulièrement bien documentée et commentée ! BRAVO !

[@michaelkaiser1864]

I handled that for the channel lol. The last time yall were viable was during our revolution. Since then? We bail you out.

[@ruck27]

France needs to stay out of war. They are particularly bad at it

[@swissmilitischristilxxii3691]

Macron ferait bien de s'occuper de l'ennemi de l'intérieur, la 5ème colonne qui est bien présente en Europe et qui veut notre mort, à nous les mécréants.

[@wilihey1425]

Pourquoi tu commente en français

[@charlesdudek7713]

It is good to see France take this stance on defense..

[@albangautier9245]

A very objective analysis of the situation and strategy. You mentioned gunpowder component shortage coming from the mysterious decision of China to no longer export this product to France after the war started in Ukraine… a good exemple why autonomy and sovereignty have always been key elements of the French strategy. Certainly good to mention too that American weapons contracts always come with a right of use defined by the US … which basically makes your foreign policy dependent on US decisions. Another reason why the French have always wanted to keep developing their own weapons without American components.

[@astroblue6207]

The Polls and the French have a chip on their shoulders that is well desevered the Polls were attacked by both the Russians and the Germans and the Germans have made it up to them. they feel bad about the past and are a great people. and want to keep all of their allies.I dont think this next world war will be that long I believe that the human being is evolving to the point of common sense! We have reached a clear picture of a Human being in the process of being stupid!and when we see ourselves in this Stupid Reality we experience a realization, that we must stop acting this way! It is below our Destiny, from the ONE! Human beings together we are unstoppable!

[@clippo111]

Great post 👍🏼

[@RandalKoene]

Love your balanced take on things, in Europe and US. "Our enemies are about to find out why none of us have healthcare." Nearly had me spit out my coffee! Good job. ;-)

[@Mythansar]

😅

[@JooDawg]

“Our” enemies. I’m confused about why we don’t have healthcare and why we produce the amount of shell a year that Russia produces in a month.

[@shawnadams1460]

Ditto! I almost needed a new keyboard!!!

[@fyodor_ivanovich]

*Enemies America created for themselves. Why didn’t they let Russia join NATO in the nineties? Always gotta have a boogieman to keep the masses scared. Russians didn’t consider Americans enemies until they meddled in their affairs- hell they warned the US about Al Qaeda. Most Russians, especially Russo-Americans like myself, still don’t consider the west enemies. Why can’t Americans see through the obvious “Bread and Circuses”? I guess you do you?

[@os10v311]

it's an old meme, but it checks out. America does have the greatest war machine in the known universe and it's about time we prove it (again)

[@user-br3te2mh5s]

Nice video highly informative ...

[@bobhogue6278]

Excellent presentation

[@enricojanbudzejko1213]

Very informative analysis. Admittedly, I find it surreal to be watching images of artillery shells and tanks and to be hearing them being talked about in terms of sheer, cold numbers. 1000 per day, 3000 per day etc. I see the reason why it is all treated like that, but whenever such images show up I can't prevent my head from going back to the moments in march 2022 when colleagues of mine and I took care of freshly wounded ukranian soldiers that had been transported to the hospital I have been working in order torelieve overwhelmed hospitals from poland and vicinity. One in particular had an artillery shell explode not far away from him and came with shrapnel in his brain, lungs, abdomen arm and legs, paralized from the neck down, barely stable after the first round of the necessary surgeries had been done as best as they could in ucraine before sending him to us with the helicopter. And that's my point. Each of this shell is potentially a dozen or more lives violently torn apart, dozens of relatives mourning, generations to come deeply scarred in their psyche. It's daunting, depressing and infuriating to think humanity cannot come to a better solution to conflict.

[@Hades_Space_Engineer]

The perspective you just shared is one tt we should always keep in mind when planning these things

[@Ps119]

That's why we need to be fully prepared for war so it won't happen. Instead we were weak so Putin saw an opportunity to invade another country. China-Taiwan is next and Pakistan could soon be fighting its neighbours.

[@Zeraevous]

Some humans. The artillery wounding that soldier was sent from an aggressive invader. Putin doesn't believe in peaceful conflict.

[@Nikkisavage100]

France is not preparing! lol, the asshole in our government is an idiot! The country is not going to follow him! We have 3 days of ammunition if we are attacked! The psychopath no longer knows what to do to get noticed

[@CCGNZ65]

Your thoughts are very noble,I believe all liberal thought to be w/sincere intentions,unfortunately the reality is that EVIL resides in some powerful nation states,consequently they aspire to impose their will through brute force. This requires that just freedom loving democracies must arm themselves w/ghastly weapons of war costing precious resources that could otherwise be spent to uplift society w/more equality in mind.It's unfortunate but tragically necessary when the strength is imposed bluntly to conquer those deemed weak by certain nations for nationalistic,economic, or geographic reasons.

[@ThibaultCassin-ib4jq]

Thank you for this video, and all the work it represents. As a French citizen, I would like to thank you for bringing together all this information, all these documents, all these comments and all these maps. You make things particularly clear. And in my case, your dispassionate and objective approach helps me to put my ideas in order. And hats off to you for putting things into perspective with historical references. Well done.

[@JamboniUk]

France will become another whore house as the German Nazis made them during WW2.

[@retireorbust]

The French should invest in air forces and especially drone/anti-drone forces, nuclear missiles and the iron dome. They have the savy to defeat Russian nuclear missiles and nuclear war survivability. That ensures it does not start.

[@JamboniUk]

@@retireorbust The french weapons were proven as a joke in UKriane. France is making a fool of themselves.

[@maigepresents5840]

​@@retireorbustah yes... because if history has taught us anything it's that the French have a fine track record of winning wars against Russia...

[@batto5717]

Il se fourvoie sur les raisons historiques de la dotation du nucléaire militaire par De Gaulle. De Gaulle pensait qu'après Dien Bien Phu, ou les américains nous ont refusé de l'aide, et les évènements du canal de suez ou les américains nous ont également laché, on ne pourrait faire confiance à cet allié. En résulte la volonté de l'arsenal nucléaire national.

[@Pwelvr]

Well done!

[@user-ku8qw8bg8c]

Very good info once again ! Top stuff ! The thing is i dont understand is how come armies are so insufficient !! Baring money of course !

[@MrKaNeEraV2]

Has a frenchman myself, I want to thank you for the accuracy , neutrality and non-biased informations of your video. We are pretty used of seeing foreign media undermining our country because of what happened in WW2. Our army was really strong and capable of giving a good fight to the germans but our leaders at the time were idiot and we lost so quickly only because of their stupid defense decision ( I'm not saying we were gonna beat Germany's ass all by ourself but at least we were capable of blocking them for awhile ) So yeah thank you for being a true unbiased journalist 🇫🇷

[@scottwillie6389]

If France was not powerful enough to defeat Germany by itself, it shouldn't have declared war on Germany (remember, Germany had no interest whatsoever in a war with France). Pétain and others had argued forcefully in the years prior to the war that French military was unprepared for a major European War and major increases in military budget were necessary. What the "Establishment/Zionist" narrative gets wrong (or more accurately, deliberately lies about) is blaming the French Military for the debacle rather than putting blame firmly on the utterly moronic GEOPOLITICAL decisions made by the interwar civilian French Government which of course were compounded by their failure to properly invest in military spending to support that bellicose and foolish policy. The one thing France actually DID get right (which West could certainly learn from today) was exiting the war quickly after the full folly of the previous governments' policies and decisions became apparent. Had the British done the same, the war in the West would have ended in the summer of 1940 and Great Britain and France both would have emerged from the war as Great Powers with their colonial empire in tact rather than suffering the rapid post-war collapse and reversion to de facto client states of the American Empire.

[@ewoudalliet1734]

It's not just the fact that French leaders "were idiots". The Germans employed Blitzkrieg tactics. The idea is to outmaneuver the enemies by concentrating your forces at a weak point, thus forcing your opponents to retreat (or they get flanked/surrounded). In order to do this, you need a good coordination between motorized troops, artillery and aircraft. That's where the Germans shined: communications (well-integrated radio's and such). The French military was more motorized than the German military, but some troops still communicated using pigeons (often, French troops even ended up being sitting ducks). Anyhow, this gave the Germans a massive advantage with a huge surprise factor. Another issue was that military leaders weren't used to dealing with Blitzkrieg tactics, thus they had to adapt on the spot/improvise (later on, the tactics were less useful, because other militaries had adapated, both technologically and tactically).

[@jsguiraud356]

​@@ewoudalliet1734 Blitzkrieg is a myth. You should know that. There's a lot of books dealing with this matter. The German were better in radio, indeed, but the loss is more due to French leaders than German abilities to use a concept they never thought about

[@happydrunkcat]

And how many Frenchman fought on Nazi Germany side? Something like 20,000? 33rd Waffen SS Grenadier Division “Charlemagne”, for example. So, wouldn't be the first time for French siding with Nazi.

[@OleDiaBole]

You do know that France lost 10 times more soldiers fighting for Germans on eastern front than fighting against Germans in France?

[@mamatess4940]

Hello, I'm french and I enjoyed your video. I learned a lot of things about my country and trained my English. TY

[@KBPT-wo3xs]

PRACTICED, not trained. As I was corrected when I tried to speak French. Returning the favour :)

[@puccaland]

​@@tadaaaa952Try going to school to get an education at last.

[@ontario1411]

France exploitation of the African people is coming to a end

[@narcopilehptique6341]

@@tadaaaa952 tell me you speak only one language without telling me you speak one language

[@assassinworks5538]

well go to african news outlets so you can learn more about your country and its oppression of the francofarm countries..that happening right now

[@lillianbowen7408]

Good content, Where can I get a world map like the one the wall behind you?

[@markmitchell457]

Thanks Chris

[@charlottelanvin7095]

very informative episode. UK citizen here, living in France. I once heard: the French copy no one and no one copies the French. You have to admire the French, they punch above their weight! The country was trashed by WWII, society divided by the Nazi occupation. That Gallic pride and the vision of CDG (which admittedly came with quasi authoritarian aspects of his régime) got this recovering economy from poverty into a powerful place with foundations laid for a home grown industry: nuclear (civil and military), fighter jets which have exported over the world, independent technology like inertial navigation and optics, supercompute capacity which is key for everything these days from cryptography to national defense, elite special forces, civil aviation which has given transport and tanker capabilities, high speed rail, cheap internet, rockets and satellite launchers etc. Which brings us to the French global reach. You mentioned the 60-80's international policy of non alignment (which is not neutrality) which is smart and takes balls. The French kept some allies close and some some controversial enemies closer. Their territories have nickel, uranium and rare metals. The ESA launches from French Guyana efficiently because it's close to the equator. The Algerian desert (when it was French) and South Pacific islands were nuclear testing grounds. Today, Reunion, Djibouti, Polynesia are key stations for global intelligence gathering. Traditionally the French have not been good at soft power, but even that is improving a lot. What are the luxury brands that first come to mind? Hermès, Kering, LVMH, l'Oréal, all French. Ubisoft is French and on and on. The UK is nowhere near France in terms of autonomous, sovereign capacity. Nowhere near.

[@texasray5237]

Nothing Gallic about the French. They like to pretend otherwise. French children are taught that their ancestors were the Gauls, the indigenous people of France. But it's not true. The Gauls were more or less exterminated by the Franks, a Germanic people who invaded France when the Huns invaded their homeland. The French are the Franks. But that makes them invaders and not the original people of the land. So they invent another story that they like better. It's as if the US were to teach children that they are primarily descended from the Cherokee Indians when most of them don't have a single drop of Indian blood.

[@user-oi8yp9uy9w]

And yet they always were fast enough to surrender in all world wars lmao

[@ewoudalliet1734]

@@user-oi8yp9uy9w France didn't surrender in WW1. Try to actually learn about both World Wars before making corny jokes about them.

[@ulyssis]

@@ewoudalliet1734they won after the German retreated actively from French territory.

[@1antag0nist53]

France’s post WW2 recovery was fueled by its African colonies, which today, STILL suffer the effects of French exploitation via the CFA franc. The country doesn’t deserve this kind of praise.

[@davidstevens6117]

That is a much better explanation of France's current military standing than you would find most places. Great video!

[@cptn3mo241]

Great video and awesome work. A few mistakes here and there about the subs and the differences to be made between the ballistics subs and other "attack nuclear subs" (or SNA) but overall really great stuff. Also forgot to mention that our debt went skyroof since macron because of political waste and socialist measures and that our n°1 expenses is the state heavy number of civil servants ... that waste a lot 😅 Keep up with the good work man, you are getting the Europeans to follow you 😉 👍

[@gabrielthiellement5773]

Thanks for the great video but it is a major mistake, in order to understand our defense strategy and challenges, not taking in consideration our oversea territories, or the missions we are actually assuming. Those two points can't be avoided to understand our strategy.

[@archimedesblack895]

Glad you mentioned Frances shrinking submarine fleet. It sheds more light on why they were so pissed the US made the sub deal with the Australians.

[@cruisinguy6024]

The French are always peeeesed no matter what we do

[@iamradmike]

Worst deal for Australians though

[@ybreton6593]

suivant le traité de L' Aukus les Britanniques sont égales a eux mêmes comme en mai 1940 le réembarquement des soi disant soldats professionnels anglais et le désastre de Dunkerque : Courage fuyons en Angleterre . ensuite le fameux Brexit en 1960 les britanniques font des pieds et des mains en suppliants les français et allemands pour rentrer dans le marché commun sauf que le Général De Gaulles ne voulait pas des anglais après sa morts ils rentrent dans l'union européenne . puis en sortent car ils n'ont pas obtenu ce qu'ils voulaient . boris Jonhson le caniche de Washington saborde le contrat des sous marins australiens le contrat ayant été signer les australien perde 54 milliards de dollars qui revient a l'entreprise française . Le Maréchal Français Ney disait des anglais qu'ils ne connaissaient pad l'honneur et c'est vrai il ne faut jamais avoir confiance aux britanniques

[@SKgeostrat]

You miss the point. They were annoyed, because Australia cancelled a contract to deliver submarines to OZ and because the perfidious albion did not tell them about the negotiations between the US, the UK and OZ to form the Aukus deal.

[@cryptomonkey6142]

​@@SKgeostratThe conservative Morrison was the one who lied to the French and failed to inform them of the AUKUS deal.

[@pbrstreetgang5995]

I stumbled across video- I learned so much! Thank you for putting in the serious time & effort to research ALL of this. Then, excellent delivery and supporting graphics. I just subscribed. Cheers!

[@dan-bz7dz]

"near peer". the guy is an idiot

[@col.cottonhill6655]

Be aware much of it is propaganda

[@powerppp1]

We must not forget about the rear-view mirrors on French tanks, it helps a lot to observe the battlefield.

[@TheCerebralDude]

😂😂😂😂 you are mean

[@thomasdevaul6181]

This is acute and thoughtful dissection of reality in my opinion.

[@Itachi951000]

A little clarification: the Griffon and Serval APCs as well as Jaguar armoured recon vehicles targets haven't changed. 1,872 Griffon, 2,038 Serval and 300 Jaguar and 200 modernized Leclerc XLR are all still scheduled to enter service.... just not in 2030 as planned in the 2019-2025 military programming law but in 2035 instead. 1,300 Griffon, 978 Serval, 200 Jaguar and 160 Leclerc XLR are the targets for 2030 now (in the new 2024-2030 military programming law adopted in July 2023). Also, France only bought a few Javelin units as an urgent requirement for service in Afghanistan as the MILAN was getting old and didn't have a fire-and-forget capability. France has developed a new ATGM to replace the MILAN and Javelin, which is already in service since 2018: the Akeron MP. 400 launchers and 3,000 missiles were ordered so far. So that part of the video is a bit misleading but I guess you took the 2017 report, which didn't feature the Akeron yet. A new simpler and less costly system is also under development to complement the state-of-the-art Akeron in order to increase mass (a result of Ukraine feedback).

[@Taskandpurpose]

Oh that’s cray cray I saw it listed as on the chopping block , I stand corrected then! Thank you for the clarification

[@Zackary1005]

Wow your production value has increased quite a bit lately! Props man

[@mrouldug]

Nice report. Quite accurate.

[@roselynjrserrano970]

I agree to your plan.

[@Concorde_001]

Excellent review, as a French person living in the US, I appreciate a 'no-bashing-France' video. Your review is quite accurate and well supported by facts. The only remark that makes me yell '' Nooooo , nonsense!'' is when you cite ''Our enemies are about to find out why none of us have healthcare " . Come on, seriously, many reports show that per capita healthcare expenditure in the US is at least twice the one in France and certainly not for the same results. Other than that, thanks again for your review material. Bonsoir 👍 (Edited) Well it did not last for too long, bashers are back, read the replies 🙄

[@baraddur7664]

Of course you like a 'no-bashing-France' Videos, you're French! 😄But hey, just because you choose not to watch this stuff doesn't mean your country is clean. And this story of war with Russia is partly motivated by the gradual loss of France's control over Sub-Saharan Africa. A loss that delights Russia as it tries to recover everything your country loses there.

[@LoMulticard]

​@@baraddur7664to Russia and also to our great Friend USA. We as French knows that our only true allies are mostly in Europe

[@Freba66]

Macron=Rothschild=Neocon=Wartrade, should I say more? What you probably don't know as a French person is that Napoleon was financed by the sons of the old Rothschild, who settled in France around 1780. The French Revolution was also financed by them. Who else but Jews anywhere in the world has money. All oligarchs in both America and Russia are Jews. The cadre of the 1917 Russian Revolution consisted of 90% Jews. Nowadays it's not that difficult to research that. Google is “Merciless”. Nothing remains hidden. History repeats itself. (It sounds better in French). greetings from the Netherlands. L'histoire se répète TOUJOURS

[@andreyakovleff4103]

I am perplexed by your remark regarding healthcare: "per capita healthcare expenditure in the US is at least twice the one in France and certainly not for the same results". I agree, but which way do the results go? 70% coverage by 'la securite sociale' looks better than if you contracted covid and just happened to lose your job in the US. Sorry if I've misinterpreted.

[@MsChrishanson]

Random comment - we’re talking specifically about war against Russia not healthcare… Also, we have way better/longer cancer survival rates than your county… Yay to government healthcare!

[@niquil7800]

It's been a while since I watched a full video on youtube. Thanks for the quality

[@MichaelMichaelides]

🙌

[@richardstone5552]

Thanks

[@pierrem1896]

What!? No! France did not surrender in WW1! It fought like crazy, lost millions of men, led the allied troops and... won the war. Anyway, apart from that mistake (symptomatic of an American mind lol), thanks a lot for this very good research and analysis. Impressive!

[@malegria9641]

We fought and died in our own land for the Americans and British to loudly boast that they won the war.

[@LA_Commander]

Also the French Navy had nowhere near 1,300 battleships in 1990, or at any time in history lol

[@Star_Dust___]

France surrendered in a week to nazies ))))

[@3lectric15]

The British actually did win the war in the end. They took the brunt of the Spring Offensive and led the 100 days in 1918. They also invented tanks. You guys mutinied in 1917 and were tired of it.

[@dradamov]

I mean, isnt it that France's surrender in WWII is partially caused by the fierce combat during WWI and the unfortunate losses suffered?

[@RedX1II]

First video I've watched from this channel and I just want to say how incredibly well laid out this all was and easily digestible for somebody eager to learn about the conflict in Europe! Appreciate the hard work that goes into learning all of this - subscribed!

[@th1nk_outside]

if you want to learn about the conflict in europe, its quite easy: the governments are lead by a global elite that earns their wealth with war and the extraction of tax money into private pockets.

[@0Logan05]

Russia didn’t “Invade” Ukraine..The CIA did back in 2008..Then The E.U/U.N./Obama-Bush D,C, Globalist Swamp Fomented a color revolution, installed a puppet and Violated the Minsk accord….. Russia is Fighting the Good Fight. I am an American And Even I can See this!.

[@nicholasmartin8208]

@@0Logan05 you might be an American but you're also crazy as hell

[@johnray7311]

Excellent report. Very informative. However, need to review previous/current number of warships. Also need to underline that France was a victor in WW1 fighting from beginning to end.

[@pauld1830]

This is an extremely good analysis of France. I highly recommend this video. It is very valuable to understand the big picture with Russia.

[@L33tSkE3t]

I know the French get a lot of shit, with jokes about them surrendering and yes, as an American I find them funny but, France has been one of America’s oldest allies and the French are one of the strongest military forces in Europe. They make really great and reliable weapons, and as Cappy mentioned, France is the only European country with its own Nuclear Arsenal and I’m glad we’re on the same side.

[@aleale6277]

France has the strongest army in Europe. The UK has its own nuclear arsenal too afaik

[@nastynotch8314]

Obviously you never served in OEF or OIF….

[@coolbreeze2.0-mortemadfasc13]

France surrendered in WW2, that’s it. No clue where this idea came from that they are weak militarily.

[@TrinityCore60]

@@aleale6277always gotta one up each other, it seems. I guess some things never change.

[@iskenuz]

France is the only European Union country, not the only European country. It's an important distinction, since the latter includes the UK and...well, Russia.

[@JorgeGarcia-lw7vc]

As a French speaker and follower of French policy, I think that this is one of your best pieces I've seen. Extremely well researched, analyzed and synthesized. Excellent, merci. Btw, I largely agree with the strategic autonomy approach--Europe needs to be able to stand on its own feet, and, as an American, will only increase and strengthen of the trans-Atlantic relationship.

[@thomast6741]

From your perspective, is France thinking Russia will expand to them after Ukraine, or is there some other due being lit pushing France into this fight?

[@JorgeGarcia-lw7vc]

@@thomast6741 France is likely envisioning increasing volatility in Russia, that could lead it towards a brinkmanship approach, especially if the US becomes less engaged, supportive, or become distracted, for example with China. Russia might be deficient conventionally but it's nuclear arsenal could leverage that gap quite easily. As such even a modest nuclear arsenal from France could impose enough costs for Rus to think twice.

[@thc6664]

france cant do shit...wake up

[@mercer1995]

@@thomast6741they want to shut down the potential of that and Russia is actively fighting France in north Western Africa. There’s a level of deniability since it’s Wagner and the foreign legion, but still. France kept their former colonies close and Russia is trying to tear the resource rich portions away from French influence

[@elsol1176]

Peeps the only reason France cares is because Russia is wrecking them in Africa. All the exploitation France has been able to do in Africa have come under threat. They now want to play the part of a brave saviour and have other states solve their problem There are no good people or states, just people and states looking out for their own interest

[@ronsweeney5898]

Excellent. A very lucid and fascinating presentation. I think the notion of accurate prediction of events to come is impossible. It is therefor impossible to know who is right or wrong. There was an advert for Citroen many years ago that said ‘’ A million Frenchmen couldn’t be wrong ‘’ The advertising was wrong I hope there current philosophy fares better. Than you.

[@audreywandel]

Impressive ❤

[@KendallMcIntosh]

Thank you for making this video!

[@johnmoran7954]

A great video again Cappy. Good depth and views, this is the stuff and enjoy.

[@Sharpie1111100]

rubbish

[@user-wg2vw3mz1v]

🇫🇷 💥 😂

[@KimberleyRussell-xt9sm]

Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by its breathtaking moments.

[@User-gd5un]

Yeah that applies if your life isn’t literally at risk

[@ricardoernestosotobarrios9519]

Actually some of the best military thinking I have read come from french philosophers. Andre Glucksmann (RIP) was one of the few to take Putin aggressive intentions seriously in the 2000s. As well to give one of the best explanations on German ambiguity towards NATO,, the US and the UK.

[@rodneylove8027]

That was a brilliant report Cappy. Nice job.

[@karlfoarile8056]

Definitely one of your better analysis efforts! Excellent!

[@jon3mi3s]

not really he ignores everything going in french colonies and slaved countries in africa that switched frenches whole approach to the war..

[@TurboXray]

@@jon3mi3s apparently you didn't watch the whole video..

[@raleighwooddriftwoodmanor2676]

Stupendous, superb. as they say in La France: FORMIDABLE

[@aenorlirist6768]

@@jon3mi3s "Slaved countries", Do you know that sub-saharan Africa represents less than 2 % of French foreign trade ? When we take only the former French colonies (it would be strange to consider that Nigeria or South Africa are stolen by French due to non-existent historical ties), it's around one percent ? French just really don't care about some backwards countries, it's nice for them to say that they have a "pre carre" (influence zone) but they will easily survive without.

[@daviddb2528]

Apart from those 1000 battleships.... Pfftt!

[@kernjames]

Great synopsis that is level headed and very informative.

[@englishcoach7772]

Awesome vídeo

[@simonshaffer]

Detailed work, your channel just keeps getting better and better; respect.

[@donaldjasoncrunk]

Genuinely great analysis! Well spoken, tons of relevant info, just really well done. This channel continues to get better and better!

[@gideon33]

Thank you, terrific work! Indeed France is strong…but for how long can they bring it…sustained firepower that is, & manpower retention & recruitment is at an all time low.

[@hs4619]

could you please maybe start linking your sources?

[@Thekingdomwithinco]

Very thorough video essay, replete with so much minutiae it makes my head spin 🔥

[@hans-martinadorf3834]

Phantastic video. Packed with information, not opinions. Congratulations.

[@bradjohnson4787]

That's smart increasing their military budget now. Training troops takes equipment, infrastructure, and training preparation. Next recruiting for regular and foreign legion forces.

[@DanielFernandez-jv7jx]

Une excellente analyse des stratégies militaires de la France au cours des dix dernières années, y compris ses lacunes, et en particulier sous Macron. Nous ne dirons rien des sautises du Gen. De Gaulle. Bravo et merci monsieur!

[@guydreamr]

Good to know the French point of view and explains much of what's been underpinning their actions over the last few decades. Best regards, from the USA

[@MrXeCute]

It's an American view of how France is managing their defence. France doesn't stand alone. their is a whole of the EU, even the UK. The whole of the US (52 states?) invests 4% If we do that as the EU, it's less than our 2% of every EU-state. Thats the whole point, where Trump went wrong. We work together, but retain our independance. Our investments in military investments are at least measuring the US, and we are again investing much, much more... For example Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, and so many other states, not included in this video. We like it that way. ;-)

[@guydreamr]

@@MrXeCute Thank you for your views, best of luck to you.

[@chickenfishhybrid44]

​@@MrXeCute copium. France has its own independent interests. It only wants "strategic autonomy" for the EU and an "EU army" as long as France is in the leading role.

[@irishwolfIV]

Why should any Straight White Male, fight for any EU/NATO government?

[@peope1976]

@@chickenfishhybrid44Well. They and Germany are definitely the biggest players in the EU.

[@crymieze9003]

Your video is incredibly interesting and true on many points. What a good job !, it deserves french subtitles for these who don't understand english

[@aidencottingham7157]

I like your channel, don't get me wrong.. but why is there a "Korean war veteran" hat that is clearly blocked out in the background?

[@fitmc2487]

Because the shelf is unintentionally blocking it😂

[@user-uk9uw2lw3p]

Brilliant

[@benurknees5419]

Excellent synthesis on our abilities and challenges in this new international context. Thanks a lot man, great work ! Just subscribed.

[@0Logan05]

France needs to be liberated from Macron and the Nat-Socialist E.U…Brussels /Geneva/ U.N. /cia Is the threat of Threats!.

[@mrsnakesmrnot8499]

The classic economic phrase is “guns and butter”, when discussing domestic and foreign spending. This video was well made. Thanks for the historical asides. Thanks for all the effort into making this video.

[@Taskandpurpose]

Yes ! That was the phrase I was looking for it was on the tip of my tongue

[@Booz2020]

Make BAGUETTEs Great Again 🥖

[@ampheat]

full tilt preparing for war, inertia in pursuing peace

[@morr2490]

You make some good, easy to understand, and factual content. Thanks man.

[@DaveNarn]

Nice fluid graphics, particularly the maps and their animation. Kudos to your graphics team.

[@Taskandpurpose]

Michael the editor does amazing work

[@peacean2460]

@@Taskandpurpose He does a great job, it's not a big deal but at 24:04 you showed serbian Nora arty instead french Caesar.

[@edtangonan4002]

This reminds me of Eddies Murphys' 1983 standup. When he was talking about an little Italian man harrassing a large brother at the movie theater..."oh you, just got done watching that Rocky movie.."... 2024 Russia " oh you, just got done watching that Napolean movie.."

[@maeges]

6:03 no, that‘s rather déjàvous 😅

[@georgewarren8814]

Cappy, awesome analysis brother! Really appreciate your work.

[@AnInterestedObserver]

Thanks for that, you're certainly putting a lot of work into these very informative and thought provoking videos. I've not come across any other channel that comes close to what your doing, so thanks. And...you have a great voice and I'm so glad that you didn't use unnecessary and distracting music over voice 😊

[@burnburn645]

there are many out there. definitely historylegend

[@knoll9812]

There is another element to armoured forces. Pissible that within a decade there will ve a complete rethink about what sirt if armoured forces are needed in a drone battlefield.

[@gregcameron9953]

Here in Canada few year's back we went from 65 to 67 for retirement age without protest. I wish was 62 here. I still fall in the bracket of 65 with all generations below me is age 67

[@notapplicable4567]

Man this guy is a good lecture. Im never bored

[@sportsport9470]

she is trans lesbian

[@caylynmillard76]

Love the new way you film. More facts and less jokes. Great videos and very comprehensive.

[@kilmer009]

Disagree, while I love the content and quality, I also love Cappy's corny jokes. A few jokes sprinkled in here and there can really break up the monotone of the factoids.

[@JohnDoe-re1ll]

I am not a defense expert. That said, this video was well thought out and well done. It just goes to show you that people who walk into a war instead of flying (in and out) are O.K. Mostly...

[@knebulldog]

No point having a nuclear deterrence, if you don't have the conventional muscle to deal with all other threats (that doesn't warrant a nuclear response)

[@macklewis4882]

This is one of your very best!

[@peope1976]

Much respect and gratitude for France - from a Swede. I hope our country will reciprocate and by proportion do even more.

[@Booz2020]

Make 🥖 Great Again 💬

[@litestuffllc7249]

The French army shrinking from 500,000 to 180,000 is a reduction of 2/3rds.

[@CyrilleParis]

Such an exhaustive, detailed and relevant analysis. Merci! Could you make the script available so I can do French subs?

[@whatsmyusername1231]

Congratulations Cappy you have transcended to the group of people that use vis a vis in every day talk I'm proud of you.

[@Taskandpurpose]

I felt dirty saying it . My pretentious alarm was going off throughout writing this video

[@tenoki]

​@@TaskandpurposeA a Francophone, I think you used properly and well.

[@unicorngall1047]

Your vis-à-vis was perfect, but your Vincent Desportes was hilarious to hear :D (juste dont say the S like you didn't in vis-à-vis)

[@happinin]

It took two years for people to figure out that someone needs to put a stop to this war? congratulations. humanity is progressing fast!