French drones in Ukraine, pensions, coastal erosion... Franceinfo's latest news for Saturday, June 7, 2025

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French drones produced on Ukrainian soil

French automotive and defense companies will produce drones on Ukrainian soil, French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu said, describing it as a " win-win " partnership with Kiev. By producing on Ukrainian soil, Ukrainians will be able to share their drone expertise with French companies: " Today, there is a lot of talk, for example, about optical fiber, used by Russian and Ukrainian drones, which makes drones resistant to the enemy's radio-electronic defense system. It's a huge war laboratory, and whoever innovates the fastest wins. To be the most efficient, the French side must therefore remain in direct contact with these developments via the Ukrainians on the ground ," says Tetyana Ogarkova, journalist and head of the international department of the NGO 'Ukraine for Crisis Media Center' (information center on the Ukrainian crisis).

New report from the Pensions Advisory Council

The Pensions Advisory Council has halved its estimate of the pension system's deficit for 2030, to 0.2% of GDP, but raised its estimate for 2070 to 1.4% of GDP. Last year, the COR, which is attached to Matignon but operates independently, forecast a deficit of 0.4% of GDP in 2030, which it then estimated at 0.8% of GDP in 2070. In 2024, the pension system's balance (basic and supplementary schemes) shows a deficit of €1.7 billion (0.1% of GDP). A deficit of 0.2% of GDP in 2030 would represent €6.6 billion in current terms. Even if "expenditure increases slightly (13.9% of GDP in 2024, 14.2% in 2070), resources decrease even more (13.9% of GDP in 2024, 12.8% in 2070)," the COR states in this document, which is to be officially published next week. In 2024, pension expenditures represent 407 billion euros. Among the countries monitored by the COR, "France is the second country (after Italy) where the share of public pension expenditures in GDP is the highest."

Coastal erosion

The first two houses in a group of seven homes threatened by coastal erosion and marine submersion were preemptively razed on Friday in Treffiagat (Finistère). " With the advice of scientists, the decision was made that the only sustainable solution was to buy these seven houses and deconstruct them to restore the natural environment ," said Stéphane Le Doaré, president of the Communauté de communes du Pays Bigouden Sud (CCPBS). The community will allocate three million euros, mostly from public funds. Two other houses, among the seven targeted, will be demolished in the fall. For the last three, the procedures will take "18 to 24 months." This preventive destruction in the face of the risks of coastal erosion and marine submersion is a first for the region, Mr. Le Doaré recalled. These homes were built in low-lying areas in the 1970s and 1980s, separated from the beach by a single dune, which slowly thinned over time, leaving the houses exposed to the vagaries of storms.

Ana Navarro Pedro , correspondent for the Portuguese press

Vibeke Knoop Rachline , Norwegian journalist

Alberto Toscano , Italian journalist, political scientist, writer and correspondent in Paris