Paris, January 16, 2024 - At yesterday's GICAT (Groupement des Industries Françaises de Défense et de Sécurité terrestres et aéroterrestres) New Year's ceremony in Paris, Marc Darmon focused his speech on 3 key ideas: openness to debate, the need for growth, and the fighting spirit required to meet the challenges ahead. Read his speech in full below.
"2024 is shaping up to be a very special year: for almost 2 years now, a high-intensity conflict has been unfolding in Europe, continuing to demonstrate the centrality of ground combat, the reality on the ground, and a considerable budget increase by our partners in the East.
Added to this are growing international tensions, to which we cannot remain insensitive. This implies tougher strategic competition, the omnipresence of the risk of terrorism, and the accumulation of dangers and crises.
The economy, too, has been tested, and defense manufacturers in particular have shown their resilience in the face of the last two crises, those of Covid and inflation.
Also on a national scale, a military combat programming law came into force in the middle of the year, including a net annual increase in the budget dedicated to defense until 2030. 2024 will therefore be the first year of implementation of this LPM, and will be marked by major equipment deliveries to meet the needs of our forces.
But 2024, will also be the year of the European elections, at the beginning of June, the year of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, for which French security manufacturers have invested alongside the State, in a "Team France" approach.
An even-numbered year also means Eurosatory: the world's leading defense and security show, to be held from June 17 to 21 at Villepinte.
This year, GICAT and the industrialists will be organizing their cross-functional actions around three key words, which can be found on our greetings cards: debate, grow, fight.
- Discussmeans taking an active part in the dialogue between the French government and industry, in all areas, both technical and operational, and in preparing for the future.
- Growis to develop the excellence and resilience of our industry, to meet the challenges of the war economy.
- FightFinally, it's our raison d'être to respond to the needs of our forces. In the current context, our mission is to be at the heart of the most demanding, high-intensity operational requirements, and thus enable a combat-oriented land army.
First and foremost, debating means thinking, moving forward and putting into practice together, changes in operational needs.
Today, the explosion in technology makes dialogue between government and industry even more important. In 2023, GICAT remained a forum for dialogue and direct debate between French and international institutions and industry. In particular, thanks to the work of our nine commissions and working groups, and the organization of dinners, conferences and round tables, for example on operational simulation and CSR. All issues, from the war economy to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, from financing to CSR, have been worked on collectively, in consultation with our members, to promote the interests of our high-tech and sovereignty industry, which develops and produces high-tech equipment for our armed forces and partners.
For example, the future of air-land combat was sketched out at the Ateliers Terrestres, organized in conjunction with the French Army General Staff (EMAT) and several GICAT SME members. This work was continued at the Combat Aéroterrestre 2035 (CAT2035) symposium in Versailles.More recently, we have also been involved in major defense events, such as the Forum Entreprises Défense (FED), a biennial trade show bringing together all the players involved in land-based maintenance of operational conditions (MCO), and the Forum Innovation Défense (FID), which showcased six start-ups from the GICAT gas pedal, GENERATE, and their future technologies for gaining strategic and tactical advantage. Finally, at the European level, with the European Defense Fund (EDF) projects, in which our industrialists have once again distinguished themselves, reflects the necessity of R&D for our industry.
And growth means contributing to the resilience of the French defense and security industry's business model.
Growth, in France and abroad, means ensuring the long-term viability of our economic model, and strengthening our manufacturers, who employ 50,000 people and more than 500 in the air-land segment alone. They are the lifeblood of our regions and our industrial fabric, and make a positive contribution to France's balance of trade.
Growth also means strengthening confidence in the defense and security ecosystem, with regular meetings between manufacturers and institutions. It means supporting exports, a priority for manufacturers, which historically account for 50% of their business. For GICAT, this means reinforcing our action, by further structuring our international services for our SMEs, with, for example: the federation of French industrial pavilions at trade shows (Colombia with Expodefensa, United Arab Emirates with IDEX, Egypt with EDEX), the creation of bilateral seminars, the structuring of dedicated clubs (Ukraine, Indonesia). But also the arrival of two VIEs, in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
Growth means a constant increase in the number of our members, for an ever-stronger and better-equipped group to fly the flag for French industry: in January 2023, GICAT had 380 members, today it has 458. It also means increasing our membership and attempting to meet the challenges of employment and attractiveness, as well as promoting our know-how, thus meeting the dual challenge of sustainable security and employment. This is why GICAT will be setting up a CSR Commission in 2024.
To grow, we need to be more present throughout France, through joint events with the DGA and regional competitiveness clusters, to develop synergies with our manufacturers, located all over the country.
Last but not least, the opportunities offered by the Eurosatory trade show in June, organized by our subsidiary COGES Events. The show will bring together over 1,800 exhibitors and 250 official delegations from all over the world.
And finally, fighting means collectively defending our raison d'être and ensuring the operational superiority of our civilian and military forces.
It means supporting our army to help it define its needs and accelerate its endowments, particularly thanks to the resources provided for in the 2024-2030 Military Programming Law, which devotes an unprecedented budget to defense. Reactivity, reduced production times and the trade-off between mass and technology are all renewed priorities to which manufacturers will continue to respond in 2024. These priorities also include the industry's commitment to promoting new concepts, such as technical and ethical development and cyber-resilience.
Fighting means promoting our values, with an industry that serves national security and major events.
Fighting also means responding to orders from our partners, in Europe and abroad, with quality equipment that is as well adapted as possible to their needs. Faced with competition from other countries, exporting is an ongoing battle for French industry, which is one of the most efficient in the world.
Fighting means investing as much as possible in the Ukrainians, to meet their immediate equipment needs and anticipate their longer-term requirements, particularly in terms of land robotics and mine clearance. GICAT has been at their side from the outset, organizing regular trips between Paris and Kiev, starting in July 2023 and continuing into 2024.
Finally, fighting also means asserting our presence and the influence of the terrestrial industry in Brussels, in particular to ensure that its specific features are recognized by future regulations."
Press contact:
Delphine Sampic, GICAT Communications and Events Director: Delphine.sampic@gicat.fr
Amélie Sescousse, GICAT Communications and Public Affairs Officer: amelie.sescousse@gicat.fr
