On November 12, in Toulouse - the aerospace hub of France, French President Emmanuel Macron affirmed that modern conflicts have been waged in space and that further wars will also begin from here.
He only identified the threat posed by Russia and announced an increase of billions of euros spent on military operations in space.
The French leader accused Russia of conducting "scientific" activities in space after a comprehensive military campaign in Ukraine in 2022. According to Mr. Macron, Russian spacecraft have been tracking French satellites, during which they have carried out mass GPS signal interference and cyber attacks on space infrastructure.
Mr. Macron also pointed to Russia's special threat to nuclear weapons in space, which would be a disaster for the whole world. The warning came just days after NATO and British and German officials also spoken about suspicious Russian satellite activities, including the "backlash" of Western assets.
To address these threats, President Macron has announced an additional 4.2 billion euros (about 4.9 billion USD) in funding for space military operations until 2030. He stressed the need to "encourage our European champions to compete in the global market" in a " fragile" space of Europe.
France's space strategy outlines priorities including the development of reusable future launch vehicles, low-cost and high-push-up engines. This is seen as a direct move to compete with ambitious programs of US billionaires such as Elon Musk ( SpaceX) and Jeff Bezos ( Blue Origin). Mr. Macron affirmed: "Depending on a power or any space "boss" is unacceptable."
The French leader also said the country is accelerating the development of advanced early warning capabilities and cooperating with Germany. This effort includes enhancing space monitoring using aurore radar systems to reduce dependence on other countries.
However, on the Russian side, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space.
