French Arms Exports

Unpacking the storytelling around French arms sales: Demystifying the “strategic autonomy” argument

“…Anchored in a relatively recent literature looking at French arms exports from different angles (Béraud‐Sudreau, 2020; Béraud‐Sudreau & Meijer, 2016; Elluin & Fontenelle, 2021; Fauconnet & Malizard, 2016; Mielcarek, 2017; Poiret, 2019), the paper builds upon considerations discussed in these as well as in various advocacy and legislative reports to offer a new perspective sitting at the crossroad of critical discourse and strategic analysis geared towards policy recommendation.…”

“…It points to an independent decision‐making, not dictated by either of the world's two superpowers during the Cold War. Historically, France's arms exports have been considered as an inherent part of efforts to nurture this distinctive status in the global arena – a “by‐product of strategic autonomy” (Béraud‐Sudreau, 2020: 19; Kolodziej, 1987).…”

“…In fact, quite the opposite happened. Not only has arms production remained associated with France's sovereignty in the political discourse, but arms exports have been further incorporated into the narrative, as illustrated by defence minister Florence Parly calling them "the business model of our sovereignty" in 2018 (Béraud-Sudreau, 2020).…”

Weaponized storytelling a la francaise: Demystifying France's narratives around its arms export policies

“…The Socialist government that had come to power in 1997 and initiated this reform also considered it a nonsense to ask the arms export support division to process the licenses, given the vulnerability to conflicts of interests. 50 For what Lucie Béraud-Sudreau called a "short-lived parenthesis," the responsibility of arms exports control was moved to the political division of the Ministry of Defense, but the reform was canceled and reversed in 2008. 51 The overturn of this reform demonstrates a continued priority given to promoting rather than restricting arms exports, and, as policymakers and civil society actors have noted over the past few years, it undermines the transparency claim itself.…”