France is facing a shortage of gunpowder, a necessary component for the production of large-caliber ammunition for Ukrainian artillerymen, the BFMTV channel reported on Friday.
To relaunch this sector, abandoned for many years, the French Defense Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, announced in February 2023 that the company Eurenco, which manufactures explosives and gunpowders for artillery ammunition, will relocate its production from Sweden to Bergerac, in the French department of Dordogne.
«I regret that France is no longer capable of producing today. Bergerac will see the construction of a factory that will allow the production of gunpowder. “It is a top priority and we are gaining momentum,” Lecornu declared on Thursday during a visit to a defense industrial site.
Eurenco had moved part of the production to its Swedish plant, while another part of the gunpowder came from Italian, German and Swiss suppliers.
However, now the company has committed to investing 60 million euros ($65 million) to expand and modernize its factory, which will come into operation in the first half of 2025. The goal is to produce 1,200 tons of propellant powder. for self-propelled howitzers on Caesar wheeled chassis, equipment that Kiev has in its arsenal of supplied Western weapons. With RT