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Significance The president's proposal to send troops to Ukraine has triggered debate on France's military readiness. Within Europe, it is a leading military power but chronic resource limitations and competing strategic priorities have created tensions, which are now coming to the surface. Impacts French efforts to introduce EU joint borrowing to bolster defence spending are likely to fail. German coalition tensions and the proximity of key elections threaten to undermine Paris-Berlin cooperation further. Electoral gains for parties opposed to military support for Ukraine risks disrupting European governments’ efforts to support Ukraine.
A 2024 study studied this question.