Off the wire
• 1st LD-Writethru: China stocks rebound slightly on Wednesday  • China Voice: Review of decades-old murder case highlights pursuit of justice  • AU terms Benin's parliamentary polls transparent  • News analysis: Australia's withdrawal of ambassador signals cooling of relations with Indonesia over execution of citizen  • Gold price closes up in Hong Kong  • Foreign exchange rates in Hong Kong  • News Analysis: China's QE on the way? No!  • Record pollution fine for Beijing McDonald's supplier  • Thai central bank cuts policy rate to 1.5 pct  • Men's singles results at table tennis worlds  
You are here: 　 Home

1st LD Writethru: France to increase defense budget from 2016: Hollande

Xinhua, April 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday morning voiced his intention to increase defense budget with an additional fund of 3.8 billion euros available for the next years.

"France is facing threats, serious threats," said the French president after a Defense council in his presidential office, the Elysee.

In order to fight against the threats in France and support overseas operations, Francois Hollande announced an additional fund of 3.8 billion euros will be given to the defense ministry.

Speaking of the deployment of 10,000 soldiers across France to ensure the safety of sensitive places after the deadly attacks in January, the French president "decided this morning the operation, Sentinelle, will be remained with a permanent staff of 7,000 soldiers".

However, the current defense budget for 2015 will remain at 31.4 billion euros, and the extra 3.8 billion euros will be allocated to the defense ministry only from 2016 to 2019. Endi