French defense spending in absolute terms and share of GDP 2005-2021

As of 2021, France was the country in the European Union which spent the second greatest amount on its military, reaching almost 48 billion Euros in that year. While this amount has risen consistently since 2011, it has failed to keep pace with economic growth in the country, meaning that France has frequently fallen short of the two percent of GDP defense spending target set by NATO, although to a much lesser extent than in other EU member states, notably Germany.