French government experiencing difficulties in financing aid promised to Ukraine

French authorities are struggling to find funds to finance €3bn in aid to Ukraine due to the need to cut government spending, TASS reports with reference to Bloomberg

According to the news agency, France will have to redistribute funds and find savings to finance the €3bn aid package promised to Ukrainians – to purchase missiles and artillery.

Bloomberg attributes the difficulties of the French defence, foreign and finance ministries to the fact that on February 18th the government ‘lowered its 2024 GDP growth forecast and said it needs to save €10bn to meet commitments to narrow its budget deficit’.

It is reported that the government does not have the ability to make changes to the budget to finance a new aid package to Ukraine. Moreover, €400m earmarked by France to finance its armed forces through 2027 does not include capacity for additional aid to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU).