Transcripts For CSPAN3 French Defense Minister 20171023

Kentucky. The most pressing issue right now in the commonwealth is the employees retirement. Voices from the states on cspan. Next, the French Defense minister on the Iran Nuclear Agreement defends the National Security strategy, global terror threats and french president emmanuel macrons proposal for a joint European Union defense force. She spoke friday at the center for strategic and international studies. Good morning. Welcome to the center for strategic and international studies. My name is heather connolly. Im Senior Vice President here at csis with the great privilege of leading our europe research. We are absolutely delighted to be able to welcome her excellence, florence parlie, minister for the armed forces of france. He accepted her responsibilities on june 21st of this year, so four months into the job. And as she arrives here in washington, france has produced its Strategic Review of defense and National Security, a document that i certainly encourage all to read because as one of americas closest military security and Foreign Policy partners, this document really articulates some of the great challenges of our time and frances priorities in how to focus on those. Before i welcome the minister to the podium, the minister has had such a distinguished career in Public Service, serving as a senior budget adviser to the Prime Minister and also holding very senior positions at air france and Frances National stateowned railroad company, sncf. The minister knows logistics and brings that skill set to the ministry. Before i turn this over to her, i just want to pause for a moment and reflect over the events of the last few weeks. On october 4, Many Americans awoke to the news that we had u. S. Forces in niger, that they were on a counterterrorism operation in great and strong cooperation with france and its Counterterrorism Operations in mali and sahel. We learned that as the tragic death of four u. S. Green beret soldiers were lost, the first aircraft on the scene were French Military aircraft and helicopters. I think this is a moment in time to reflect, that it is our greatest allies and partners that are there when we need them the most, just as much as french aircraft flew over the skies after the 9 11 terrorist attacks. These are moments to reflect and this is why this conversation is so important, why its so important that the minister is here to help us understand frances strategic defense and National Security priorities. So with that, on this beautiful fall day, please join me in welcoming the minister. Thank you very much for hosting me today. Sorry for my voice which is not completely back but better than yesterday. Your institution is one of the most highly regarded in a city that has many. Im well aware that for the past six years csis has been named the worlds number one think tank for interNational Security by the goto think tank index. And your analysis is reading in paris. I should add as a statement of interest that we have a fantastic operation with you. Some french diplomats serving as temporary fellows at csis. This sort of crossfertilization between administration and academia which is not so frequent back in france, is an immense value. So in a word, thank you for being so good. Think tanks have a particular relevance today. When i look at the world today, i see the middle east on fire, widespread terror, crises, tension in the east and the occasional nuclear test or Ballistic Missile flashing by. So, i see a lot of tank but not much think. Our world is transitioning to an unknown place. Its difficult to read, and your work is more important than ever. Now, being the practitioner rather than analyst, ill spare you a lengthy introduction, but i would like to say a few words about what i have in mind coming here to d. C. As a new minister for the armed forces of france. First we have an all weather friendship with america. Weve been friends for a long time and we will remain. Yesterday was marking the 236th anniversary of yorktown victory. Our friendship is one of the heart and of the mind. Of the heart because the french will never forget what america did for us when we were in distress. Of the mind because for nations like ours with Democratic Values and shared interests in increasingly unstable world, its necessary to cooperate. Commentators may well expand on whether france agrees with the Current Administration on climate, unesco or the like. The bottom line is there has scarcely been a time when our two nations have been closer in military terms. We are engaged side by side in the fight against terror iism. Ive seen this with my own eyes in iraq, africa and elsewhere. We are also engaged together in all the visible and not so visible reassurance and deterrence activities on natos eastern flank. All this attests that france is a serious, capable and committed ally. At the core of our partnership is the awareness that france and the United States share both similar security interests and Common Threads and that we can best come from them together. This is true today and will be as true if not more so tomorrow. France has indeed the intention to remain a serious and capable ally. Under president macrons guidance, my ministry is starting an enduring financial and capability buildup that will ensure just that. Inherited from the past, a strong bilateral alliance we enjoy today must be maintained into the future which will require the commitment of our two great nations. And i have no doubt that it will be the case. And i will work as much as i can to develop it further. Second, im particularly honored to be here and to meet secretary mattis. Ive talked with him on a few occasions recently and ive been impressed by his authority, his charisma, and his depth of vision. This trip has also given me the occasion to meet with general mcmaster, members of congress and to visit institutions of special interest to me, such as dapa and the sco, as i place particular emphasis on innovation in my own ministry. Third, its fascinating to come here as the representative of a new french administration, an administration of new kind that weve not seen for a long time in our country. Our president is the youngest head of state since napoleon. Most of the government comes from Civil Society rather than from professional politics. Gender is balanced. And the president is set to reform the country thoroughly from labor laws to taxation and beyond. Hes very strong on defense. He will increase our budget to 2 gdp by 2025. He has a very special interest in Foreign Affairs with ambitious plans for the ue and the power of diplomacy. And he places enormous value on the transatlantic friendship. Im sure you will see a lot of International Affairs in the coming months. Coming to substance, id like to give a few thoughts about my priorities coming here today. The first is how to defeat terror. We have an excellent cooperation at all levels with the u. S. On this. We have made tremendous headway recently. Raqqah fell this week. But the challenges are daunting too. In iraq we need to support the Iraqi Government in console d e consolidating its victory with isis and moving away from sectarian politics. This will take time, but we can see encouraging signs. We must also work to deescalate current tensions for the kurds. In syria, by far one of the most intractable International Issues today, there is still much to do. We need to eradicate isis from its hideout in the middle yu frates river valley. There will come a time when the caliphate is no longer a geographic expression but only an intention to kill. This will not be the end of the story. In syria we will still have Critical Issues to address before considering a redeployment. We should make sure not to leave too much of a mess behind. This means avoiding at least four things. First, a war with the kurds. Second, a war involving israel and also lebanon. Third, an unpunished use of chemical weapons. And lastly, a government that will fuel terror whether from sunni or shia groups. I know it sounds simple but its not. In the south, france is redeploying 4,000 military in a high intensity environment. We have tremendous support from the United States. We are immensely grateful for that support. There have been strong achievements. Weve saved mali from the jaws of al qaeda. Terror groups are under pressure. But much more needs to be done. We dont want to be the pretore yans of Southern African countries. They must be able to defeat terror on their own. The joint force of the g5 is meant for that. It will start its first operation soon. It needs definitely support. The u. N. Wants to give its support, and i hope that everyone can become convinced that assistance is necessary. I would be happy if you all could help us spread the word in the beltway. Beyond the theaters of war, we have also a cooperation with the u. S. On terror and intelligence. I hope it will be strengthened. One day perhaps all the Untold Stories of this cooperation will be told, and that day we will have reasons to be proud. Our lives would be dull if there was only terror. Fortunately there is also proliferation. Two places come to mind. Iran and north korea. On iran, we have noted the president s statement. The leaders of france, germany and the u. K. Have reiterated both their urgent recommendation to stick to the gcpoa and their willingness to address irans Ballistic Missile program and regional activities. We need the gcpoa. Scrubbing out would be a gift to irans hard liners and a First Step Towards future wars. But we should also be extremely serious about the destabilizing ballistic and regional activities. We are working on it. The issue is now in congress. France has no desire to be embroiled in u. S. Domestic politics, but our position on the agreement is clear. On north korea, we share u. S. Concern with recent developments. France has long been the european leader on sanctions against the dprk. We were instrumental in passing the latest package of eu measures. More pressure is necessary for any future negotiation to be meaningful. The question though is do sanctions come too late, and how far is china willing to go. The third thing i have on my mind is how well we cooperate with the u. S. On nato and European Security more broadly. France is a responsible nato ally. We fully understand the u. S. Insistence and we are on a clear path toward reaching 2 gdp on defense expenses. Believe me, our 2 are not a headquarter percentage. They are a war fighting percentage. Although not all our effort is in nato, it all contributes to nato security, whether in the north atlantic where our navy cooperates with the u. S. To cut off threats. Beyond this, we strongly believe that europe must do more to defend themselves. In that spirit, the french president recently sti lly deci launch a European Initiative called europe intervention initiative. We have also been key to the creation of the permanent structured cooperation and the European Defense fund. I will be happy to expand on it further. Id like to conclude with a slightly more Global Outlook if i may. France has just concluded, as you just mentioned, a Strategic Review of a security environment at the request of the french president. We face growing security challenges in multiple areas around the world. This challenge calls for new thinking on how to best assure our command security which is why we launched this Strategic Review. This assessment will serve as a basis for the multiyear defense programming load that we will establish, defense appropriation for the next five years. I would like to give you a primer on some of its findings. The only thing i can say is that its bleak. The threats and risk we identify in our previous 2013 white paper, materialized more forcefully and more simultaneously than expected. Europe faces the greatest concentration of challenge since the end of the cold war. As a result, france is exposed and its armed forces are fully committed if not overstretched. French forces are committed on four bases. In response to the isis organizations, al qaeda and their affiliates, we lead the military effort to counterterrorism in mali and help stabilize the country and contribute to the security and stability of the entire region. We also participate in the u. S. Led coalition against isis and French Forces are also heavily committed on our National Territory participating directly in the protection of the homeland as the latest terrorist attack reminded everyone three weeks ago in marseille. All that i think is well known of you. Beyond these commitments, the review clearly states that we must remain vigilant in four other regions of concern, the balkans that are still fragile, Subsaharan Africa where there are structural weaknesses require preventative action, the Mediterranean Sea where we see a convergence of those Security Issues such as migrations and terrorist activities and defense issues considering the return of traditional power politics and the concentration of military assets by nonwestern countries in the eastern med sea. Finally, asia where several arms races are taking place involving in some cases nuclear weapons, even though this crucial region doesnt have any credible security architecture. The environment is more unstable and more unpredictable. Theres a tendency to challenge and to weaken international norms. Our immediate environment is sometimes at stake with state and non state actors having an increasing access to an advanced military resources, western armed forces superiority will probably be eroded. We expect future operations to be more difficult and more costly. To address the growing number of common challenges, france must have two objectives. One, to preserve our strategic autonomy. And second, to help build a stronger europe and stronger alliance. Preserving our strategic autonomy will require to renew both components of our Nuclear Deterrent. Also to devote appropriate efforts in terms of knowledge, anticipation and intelligence, and to retain a full spectrum and balanced military. In particular, france French Forces should be capable of autonomous action with respect to nuclear deterrence, the protection of our home territory and its approaches, as well as for Intelligence Command and control special operations, and last but not least cyber space. New investment should focus on certain key capabilities and elements of readiness, intelligence, control, i just mentioned it a second ago. And i also want to point out that retaining certain key capabilities such as Nuclear Deterrent and a full spectrum military provides france legitimacy and credibility that are critical to forge partnerships and uphold the responsibilities of a framework nation. With the same rationale, france must remain a major technological power with a solid Defense Industry and technological base. Supporting Defense Innovation and harnessing innovation from the commercial sector will be key in preserving our militarys priority in the long run. Its one of my key priorities as minister for armed forces. However, facing such daunting set of challenges, france cannot do everything alone. We would like to see European Defense strengthened, based on the growing number of security interests we share with our european partners. Accordingly, we support all ongoing eu and nato tools and initiatives such as the one i mentioned earlier, provided they deliver actual results. All this will require a buildup and a corresponding financial effort, and i mentioned that we expenses. Next year already france will raise its Defense Budget by over 1. 8 billion euros in 2018. I know this is probably less than the pentagons laundry bill, but in france this is a significant 5 increase. And what i would like to conclude with this, dont underestimate those single digit billions. From what ive mean . The sale, when you invest in the French Military, you really get a bang for your buck. So thank you for your attention, im ready for your questions. [ applause ] madam minister, we got a lot of bang out of the buck for those wonderful comments. Colleagues, i am totally stealing the phrase more tank than think but we put a lot of think in the think tank so thank you very much. What we will do with the time we have is i may pose a few questions then we have a fantastic audience that i know have some additional questions from that very rich offering that you just provided for us. Id like to start with your fire in the middle east. And in some ways were about to be the victim of our success. As the antiisis coalition the victories in iraq, were now moving towards other places, were moving toward challenges that i see and would welcome your thoughts. Clearly we still have foreign fighters that are being squeezed but they have to go somewhere and you have expressed very strong comments even a week or two ago about french citizens that are in syria, how to address that challenge and the terrorism and the Homeland Security part of that. My second question is what does syria look like . We will have an assad regime that controls a portion of syria with russian air support, Iranian Ground support, is that what were willing to accept . And president putins comments about the chemical weapons regime, the normative regime, putting that into question, what is the syria we want after were successful . A difficult question. So first of all im a bit sorry because probably my statement about remaining terrorist in syria was a bit too strong and expressing a diplomatic way but im quite new in the job so sorry for that. But i said just what im i thi think. We have been committed in this area along with a coalition for some years now and we are fighting terrorism whatever the passport of the terrorist and we couldnt care less and the fact that they are french or syrians, whatever, they are terrorists, they are threatening us, they are threatening europe. They are threatening muslims as well so my statement was just to say we are combatting everyone and if this fight is successful thats good news. Back to your question. Syria is the most difficult part. As you said, iraq is professor ing professing whether or not the issue is set and stabilized but probably if this is the case iraq will be able to stage step by step to reunify the country. It will take time. In syria we dont know. We dont know because the country has been completely destroyed and the regime is progressing on the west part of syria and we know that after this military period, there will be a political one and we dont know what will happen. So its been very clear that we have nothing to say that but we are absolutely convinced that this country needs political solution and this political solution is not there and thats one of the key issues we will discuss with general mattis because we need to share a common vision about what comes next. What comes next for the coalition and if the coalition were to change its setting, what does it mean . So sorry i have questions but not answers. Well, were going to keep working on those, we appreciate your comments. Let me turn to europe a bit and i understand what frstrategic autonomy means in the french sense of the Nuclear Deterrent and your ability for full spectrum. The European Union is using that term now, that term has been didnt adopted in the global strategy straw strategic autonomy and president macron mentioned that in his vision speech but im having a hard time understanding what strategic autonomy mean within the European Union setting. Does this mean that nato can react at counterpurposes from the u. S. . I put that in a question because i think many in washington didnt appreciate after the horrible terrorist attacks in paris president hollande invoked article 42. 7 never been invoked about the eu defense. Did that do what the french government wanted it to do . It was a message of solidarity. Did it put in other words, did it put eu defense into the mix . Heaven us understand that. I think theres confusion. Well, first of all today at the time for the time being there is a growing conscience within the european member state that their security is at stake is not only one of the country within europe but potentially all and europe as an entity is also at steak viewed from terrorists. So there is a moment, a very positive moment to trigger a new effort on the European Defense policy. This is a concept that was thor rely discussed in the past. I was not there but i was told and now its getting more and more not a concept but a realit reality. So we made major steps, i mentioned the European Defense fund which is something completely new that was unconceivable a few years ago probably. So they consider now that their security is probably something to be looked at and they have to take care of it. Thats the first point. The second about that, president macron would like to talk to all countries who are willing and able to go to a battlefield because they would consider it as necessary. This is a very long process and the processes are not completely set. So his initiative meant that, yes, we want to have a quick and operational process to book together different European Military forces if there is a need for it. And you mentioned president hollande asking for solidarity. And tomorrow if we were to reiterate such an operation on a different theater ideally i would like to do it not alone asking them for solidarity. But from scratch doing it with other European Countries or any countries who would be willing and able. This is new, its still being formed, its potentially very exciting. Im wondering as the migration crisis continues to roll european politically as were seen in many european elections, could this the European Intervention initiative or this type of readiness, could it be used for a more robust Border Security prevention of smugglers, traffickers. That seems to me such an important issue and European Union has battled with how to do that in a collective way. Border security is a National Competency but yet it needs to be shared. It needs to be shared and thats exactly the purpose of 24 75. The idea is to allow the military forces of the five countries concerned, mali, burkina faso, chad, niemichael jacksoner niger and mauritania to take into account their own security. Thats what were doing with the support of the u. S. And others and germany and spain and others but but if we dont succeed in implementing a powerful and efficient military force s forc we will not be efficient and one of the assignments of this joint force is also to control and they will allowed to go back and forth the borders so we can traffic efficiently traffics and terrorist terrorists for sure france would benefit from allies, or we will never succeed. So we definitely need a local initiative and thats why i underline that match that we need your support as a Community Just to help understand that this is a strong this is not just money poured, it is something that will happen. And the operations that is prepared in the coming days now will be a first training to demonstra demonstrate. It seems its going to be such a critical test of new initiatives. Very exciting. Last question before we turn to the audience. One thing you and secretary mattis can talk about is the challenge of readiness. I say that looking at the map that the ministry provide d. Over 30,000 French Forces deployed worldwide, 4,000 of those in the high intensity situations. If i understand correctly please challenge me on this over 10 of the French Military deployed internally to france to provide the necessary Homeland Security aspect against terrorist acts. This is a huge challenge of just maintaining that operational tempo, that readiness, and as you mention in the Strategic Review, the real challenge of sustainment. The average length of operations are 10 to 15 years, we dont budget for 10 to 15 years, huge set of challenges, for months as you look at the enormity of this challenge, where are your priorities in the readiness and making sure the French Military forces that werent necessarily designed to guard churches and train stations that they maintain that level of readiness so they can be rapidly deployed if required. Its true. We have up to 10,000 people, soldiers protecting the homeland territory and this is lost. So what we decided a few weeks ago is to redesign the process because we have to take care of stations, of course, permanent ly but we have also to be more flexible already to intervene wherever its necessary and when ever so we have to work on mobility and thats that matches completely with what our soldiers ask for. They are not trained exactly to rem remain stable and they are trained to run to use the force and so they are quite i wouldnt say satisfied, but they know this is necessary so we try to make the best use of this force because it has a cost, of course and we have got a huge army like the u. S. Has and we have to be present in our National Territory and also very much present and with lasting presence even if we are ready to discuss how we can do that with general mattis when we are working together. Absolutely. Colleagues, let me welcome you into this conversation if you could please raise your hand, identify yourself and your affiliation, keep your question short so we can take as many as possible and the microphone is hard to hear. If you can speak directly and clearly into that microphone it will help us. So im going to pass it over to y you. Thank you for being with us despite your cold. What kind of assurance are you giving to us that you are not setting up an alternative defense initiative. Well take several questions. Hello, my name is megan donovan. I was wondering in Subsaharan Africa you had engaged local Civil Society security arrangements. Well take one more and pause and just right back there. Thank you. As well as the uk. Thank you. So is the eu defense plan an alternative to nato, how can we engage Civil Society more, potentially as part of the counterterrorism activities and is the European Intervention initiative, how can it be combined with natos framework concept, the joint expeditionary forces, you can tell theres a lot of interest in the European Defense plan. I will be short and well share a strong conviction. The Eu Initiative coming from the eu or coming from or to go together from wherever they need is not undermining nato. Not at all, why . Because the day europe invests in its own protection and securi security, that day europe contributes even more its commitment to nato so this is something which is completely that can be combined and not be opposed so ive absolutely no doubt that this is not meant to undermine the nato commitment, not at all. Its just meant to be more efficient when we are and we are still unsecured and not only secured only on the if part of europe but also in the southern part of europe and we have to deal with those two. And the question about some what the European Initiative is can do. At this stage im not yet made example but is this European Initiative had existed when we started to go to mali, im sure that this would have been a good example of what it could have don done. Now, the big operation, of course, could be a smaller one and what ive not mentioned in my answer is about the financing of it. Because i said that europe is working hard and building a European Defense fund, which is new. But that doesnt mean that European Union is ready to finance what Member States invest in their daytoday operations abroad and this is also one very serious question we have to solve at the european level and thats why president macron said we are financing that on our own but we would like very much to extend the financing to european contribution asle with which means that we should be able to revisit some processes that we have in europe which doesnt which are not ended up doing so. We have three questions right in the back, three in a row right there and then well have minister give her closing remarks. Right there. Thank you. My name is andrew hannah, im a reporter with politico. So washington has been somewhat cool on the g5 regional architecture project before but theres a suggestion that with the recent deaths of u. S. Troops in niger that u. S. Position might change on this. Do you plan to talk about this topic with secretary mattis and do you have any sense that momentum might be changing on the u. S. Side . Good morning, im alex sanchez, im going to piggyback on the last question, if you can talk about what youre going to diswas with general mattis today, what else is on the agenda. And you talked about the French Defense industry. Can you talk about weapons sales from French Companies abroad. I know france is going to sell warplanes to argentina, gifts to columbia and uruguay. If you could talk about that. And the final one . Good morning, im from the embassy of italy. Talking about the migration crisis in the mediterranean, do you see france working more closely with italy to ensure the saving of lives and prevent migrant trafficking . Excellent questions, lots of questions on the g5 and perhaps if you want to preview some conversation youll have with secretary mattis that youll have that meeting later today and then migration, bilateral cooperation with italy. Well, yes we will discus this with general mattis. Its of utmost importance for us and im pretty sure that general mattis will be sensitive to this because we knows we are strongly committed in this field. That is a very demanding fight and we need to find support everywhere we can so im not sure if its important to discus about the way to support so whatever it comes from the u. N. Or from blalt ral support that we already have from the u. S. Is that we would find that, of course, i wouldnt careless. The only thing i care is that this comes otherwise probably in five years from now the situation that i would recommend to you if you would invite me again. Done. Well the situation has not made much progress and we cant afford, of course if we dont make progress terrorists will on the migration progress, we are with our italian allies. We are with them. I cooperate very efficiently with italy. I have an extremely Good Relationship with my counterpart so i know that its probably a place of concern for italy but we are working also to find solutions. Find ways to avoid both trafficked and illegal migration and human beings, that triemt that happens in this area so we are close on this issue as well as all the others were discussed about cooperation within europe. So, again, italy, germany, spain are our best support in europe to try building this initiative we try to promote. Do you want to say anything about the your Defense Industrial component . Ive certainly seen a lot of vibrancy, whether its india, origin that, elsewhere. Any comments on that . Well, much smaller than the american ones, we definitely have in the Defense Industry and it is also one of the basis of the autonomy we are building effort so as any country having Defense Ministry i would say thats the Business Model otherwise you need enormous amount of money to get the abilities the technologies so sometimes we export our webs and military systems, of course we have it do we comply with International Rules . Of course we have to do that. But these rules are set accordingly so we do our best to comply with them. Madam minister, thank you so much. You gave really comprehensive and important thoughts and insights. Thank you so much for your partner sh partnership. Thank you for managing this conversation with a cold. Thats above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you for agreeing to come back to csis in a future date. But thank you for your cooperation. The United States is a safer place for it if everyone can can remain seated well escort the minister out then please enjoy a fantastic fall weekend. With your applause, please thank the minister for her comments. [ applause ] announcer cspan, where history unfolds sailly. In 1979, cspan was created as a Public Service by americas Cable Television company. Announcer up next on cspan 3, a conversation on Cyber Security policy with texas congressman will hurd. From George Washington university, this is 40 minutes. If i could welcome everyone to the campus of George Washington university. I hate to start early but we have a jampacked day, we have an Awesome Group of speakers as well as an Awesome Group of participants in the room itself. Let me also welcome our viewers on cspan. Obviously they play an Important Role in Public Service and to better understand how washington does