France praises Germany for dramatic increase in defence spending

PARIS: France praised Germany on Monday for its decision to significantly increase defence spending as war rages in Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the rearmament of the country's armed forces on Sunday. A special fund of €100 billion ($113 billion) is to be set aside for investments in troops and their equipment.

"This is a gigantic leap that Germany is making under the pressure of events," France's Secretary of State for Europe, Clément Beaune, told the Europe 1 radio station.

He said that the extra spending would encourage other countries to follow suit, and would increase Europe's security.

In his speech to the Bundestag parliament on Sunday, Scholz also vowed that Germany would "from now on - year after year - invest more than 2% of gross domestic product in our defence."

Traditionally, Germany has taken a back seat on the world stage when it comes to defence, often pointing to its history as a fascist aggressor in World War II as a reason for doing so.

However, in recent years, the country has come under pressure to boost defence spending to meet the 2% target set for NATO members, notably from former US president Donald Trump.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began on Thursday, increased that pressure considerably.