President Emmanuel Macron said France will make a “new” and “historic” effort to increase defense spending to counter an acceleration of threats to freedom in Europe and the risk of outright war in the coming years.

Emmanuel Macron announced plans to double defence spending by 2027, as he warned Europe’s liberty is facing a “greater threat” than at any time since World War Two.He pledged to increase France’s military budget three years earlier in response to a complex geopolitical moment.

Macron called for a 3.5 billion-euro hike in defense spending next year and for another 3 billion-euro boost in 2027.