France, April 26 -- France is the world's second largest arms exporter after the US, and since the Russian invasion of Ukraine it has been ramping up production - both to send weapons to Kyiv and boost its own supplies. Arms manufacturers such as KNDS have tripled production since 2022, but are facing recruitment challenges.
"We are entering a war economy," French President Emmanuel Macron said in June 2022, a few months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
He called on France's weapons manufacturers to be more innovative, produce more and do it faster.
French-German defence group KNDS was quick to respond.
It produces armed vehicles, artillery systems, guns and ammunition, but its best-known product is currently the Caesar truck-mounted self-...