September 19 this year. the opening ceremony of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) held in Paris was held. As part of the ceremony, French Prime Minister, lisabeth Borne, gave a speech, announcing that her country plans to increase spending on space projects in the coming years. Over the next three years, the fund will be increased by 25% compared to the previous period, as the government plans to allocate more than EUR 9 billion for this purpose. This means an unquestionable increase in the French Space Agency’s (CNES) budget.

As a top priority of the expenditure discussed, lisabeth Borne identified investment in the development of missile carriers. Work will focus on the Ariane 6 launch system and small commercial rockets. It was also stressed that France could not rely on other countries to launch satellite equipment into orbit. Authorities now need to decide which part of the planned amount will be used for projects in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and which part will be allocated to national and other programs.

The president of the French space agency did not hide his satisfaction with the budget increase at a press conference of the head of the space agency at the IAC later in the day, saying it was very good news. He stressed that this will also have a positive impact on the European body, which, during the November meeting of Member States representatives, will need funding for current and future projects over the next three years.

ESA CEO Josef Aschbacher announced that increasing the agency’s budget is a must for Europe, as there is still a clear need for financial spending to help catch up with world powers in terms of space capabilities, such as the US and China. He decided that failure to increase investment in space projects would result in his “expulsion” from the competition. During the conference organized as part of this year’s IAC, representatives from member states expressed considerable optimism regarding the future of the European body. For example, Walther Pelzer, CEO of the German Space Agency, said that a strong ESA is a priority in his country. The most important thing in this regard is that all member states must follow the same direction of development.

Thus, France is once again asserting its strength in the space field, not only in Europe, but also internationally. In early June this year, the country became another signatory to the Artemis Accords program, thereby declaring its willingness to use its space and raw materials peacefully and supporting the United States in the Artemis program.