French defence exports to Europe: past, present and future

Abstract：French defence firms have recently had ample oppor tunities to celebrate export success, the most lucrative example being the 2021 USD19 billion package deal with the United Arab Emirates for the Dassault Rafale and associated weapons systems. The average annual value of French global defence exports between 2011 and 2020 was approximately USD800 million higher than in the previous decade (see Figure 1), and this sum looks set to grow further following the signing of high-value deals in the last three years.1 However, while the value of deliveries to all other regions has grown over the past two decades, the value of those to Europe has declined despite French government policies and rhetoric aimed at boosting the figures.