France plans smaller and hard-hitting army

France aims to create a smaller, more mobile and better equipped army, able to respond to threats ranging from terrorism to cyber attacks, under plans to be formally presented by President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday.

A government policy document outlines plans to trim the fat from the military, spend more on equipment and pay greater attention to intelligence and home security, while maintaining France's independent nuclear deterrent.

"We have to adapt our military to a world that's moving," Defence Minister Herve Morin wrote in an article for Tuesday's Le Monde newspaper. "We need to favour the infantry, air mobility with transport helicopters and troop protection."

The government will also seek to deepen ties with NATO, heralding a potential return to its command structures, as a way of boosting military cooperation within the European Union.

France has 12,000 troops on foreign missions from Afghanistan to the Balkans but they have been hampered by poor equipment and a chronic shortage of helicopters and air transport.

More than half of military personnel perform administrative and support functions, with just 40 percent in operational and combat roles.

"The end game is to have a more efficient, more modernised army," said Etienne de Durand, director of security studies at IFRI, one of France's leading foreign affairs think tanks.

"The theory is we're going to cut personnel so as to save money and buy at least part of the equipment that former governments said we needed," he said.

SPENDING STEADY

France's status as a nuclear power with a strong military is a cornerstone of policy and Sarkozy has pledged to keep defence spending steady at around 2 percent of gross domestic product.

But strained public finances have forced it to cut costs and seek more value for money.

Reductions made mostly to support staff should free up the resources needed to spend more on cutting-edge equipment such as satellites and to improve the state of ageing helicopters and transport ships in the field.

The policy document foresees a cut in the number of troops who can be sent abroad to 30,000 from their current level of around 50,000, with a 5,000-strong rapid intervention reserve.

In a significant departure, up to 10,000 soldiers will be assigned to internal security tasks ranging from terrorism to pandemics or cyber attacks.

A special council on defence and national security, headed by the president, will be set up to coordinate all national security issues.

In terms of military strategy in general, the document stresses France's already flagged desire to participate more fully in NATO structures as a way to win support for deeper EU defence cooperation.

But it insists that France, which withdrew its forces from NATO command in 1966, must keep control of its nuclear arsenal and will not relinquish command of its own forces.

In geographical terms, sensitive regions such as the eastern and western coasts of Africa, where France already maintains a significant military presence will remain priorities, while Asia is likely to become more important.