法国曾是欧洲军事大国，拥有独立的核力量。然而，在冷战结束后的很长一段时间里，法国大规模削减国防预算，全方位压缩军队员额，造成法军应对境内的反恐行动和海外的军事行动乏力。近年来，特别是马克龙当选总统后，雄心勃勃，决意要重现法兰西的荣光，不断加强国防与军队建设，积极推动欧洲防务联合，以便在国际战略环境持续动荡不定的新形势下，维护法国和欧盟的战略自主，恢复法国的大国地位，加强欧盟的凝聚力，提升欧盟的国际影响力。为此，法国不仅制定新的军事纲领法，逐年增加国防预算和军队员额，而且还组建太空司令部，强化核威慑力量，推进武器装备的现代化。在欧洲层面，法国还推动建立“永久结构性合作”和“欧洲干预倡议”等机制，引领欧洲的防务联合和欧盟的一体化建设。
France used to be a major military power in Europe with its independent nuclear force. However，for a long period after the end of the cold war，France cut its defense budgets on a large scale and reduced its military personnel in an all-round way. As a result，the French army was weakened in responding to the anti-terrorist operations in France and in its military operations abroad. Since Macron was elected president，and especially in recent years，he has sought to revive the glory of France by strengthening the national defense capability and actively promoting the European common defense mechanisms. The goal is to restore France’s status as a great power，maintain the Strategic Autonomy of France and the EU，strengthen the cohesion of the EU，and enhance the international influence of the EU. To this end，France has not only formulated a new military program law，increased its defense budgets and military personnel size year by year，but also set up a space command，as well as strengthened the nuclear deterrent force and promoted the modernization of weapons and equipment. At the European level，France has also actively promoted the creation of mechanisms such as “Permanent Structural Cooperation” and “European Intervention Initiative”，guiding the direction of European common defense and the European integration.
