LPM 2024–2030 and the French Defense Industrial Base: Accelerating the Pace?
An organizational response to a systemic industrial challenge.
Published in Revue Défense Nationale, this article by Louis Catala, Partner at EFESO Management Consultants, explores how France’s 2024–2030 Military Programming Law exposes a critical gap between strategic ambition and industrial capacity, arguing that closing this gap will require a deep organizational transformation of the defense industry, particularly in skills, supply chain, and governance.
The 2024–2030 Military Programming Law (LPM) marks a major strategic turning point for France, with a budget effort of €413 billion—the highest level in more than fifty years. This trajectory reflects the ambition to respond to a geopolitical environment shaped by the return of high-intensity conflicts and the need to restore full-spectrum military capabilities.
Behind this ambition lies a critical question: does the industrial base have the capacity to sustain such an effort? The tensions observed in delivery lead times, supply shortages, and skills gaps suggest that the challenge is not purely quantitative. The core issue lies in the ability of the defense industry to fundamentally transform its organizations, governance models, and human resources. The national challenge cannot be reduced to a simple increase in production volumes; it requires a systemic transformation enabling sustainable, controlled scaling while maintaining sufficient flexibility to respond to current geopolitical pressures.
Find the full article (in French): https://www.defnat.com/revue-defense-nationale.php