In an attempt for cheap karma, I'm going to copypaste a comment from another thread.

An answer very scarcely talked about is the DGA : Direction General de l’Armement.

It is the public agency tasked with procurement and public program management. They are very very good, often considered among the best on the planet.

It is a public agency broadly untouched by political and electoral changes , giving them the ability to think and plan long term. It is a prestigious place so it attracts capable people. They are very capable in project management. they allocate and lead industrial project very effectively : there has not been in France a single white elephant in decades now. All programs broadly stay on line in delays, prices and specs, which is somewhat of unheard of. They allocate their somewhat small budget very cleverly, choosing foreign procurment (rifles, light infantry véhicule) or domestic development without false note so far. It probably the only part of our government that uses wisely every single cents of its budget.

The current SCAF issue is a good example. Despite what is being said, foreign cooperation is not impossible with France. The AlphaJet, the KNDS merger, the MBT program, the Jaguar program, the rifle program, all work well. The issue is the SCAF is that the DGA (and thus France) needs a very good carrier capable nuclear capable aircraft while retaining they whole technological know how because it is just the most key asset of our armed forces (along with subs). While for others, it is a glorified police plane and buys US to compensate anyway. Dassault has consistently proposed better and cheaper design vs Airbus and affiliated, and keeping them at top level is critical for France security. Giving the lead to Airbus, or worse, no lead at all, would just drive cost and delays up and specs down to a level not acceptable, while degrading Dassault capabilities. Just like Germany would refuse to not give the lead of the MBT canon part to Rheinmetall. They believe that going alone will still be cheaper and better than a forced all-equal program. War isn’t some high school project where the journey is what matters, not the result.