The Military Programme Bill and the new French defense and security policy.

A wide-ranging reform of French defence has been in hand since 2007. The White Paper on defence and national security adopted in June 2008 included a redefinition of France's defence and security strategy in line with the new global risks and the creation of armed forces that meet the country's security needs at affordable cost. The Military Programme Bill adopted by the Council of Ministers on 29 October 2008 and due to come before Parliament shortly is a major step towards implementing the White Paper's guidelines. In parallel, reform of the organization of the MOD is currently in hand. Taken together, these measure will consolidate and modernise our defence for the coming decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]