Emmanuel Macron removes his watch during interview

Emmanuel Macron, the French President, outlined his vision for France as he confirmed the country was preparing for a “possible high-intensity war”, with the announcement a new hospital would be built.

During a visit to Marseille, the French leader said the new military hospital was set to support citizens in the event his nation becomes embroiled in a bloody battle.

Speaking about the project, Mr Macron added it would “be able to accommodate more military personnel who would be affected by very serious injuries”.

The blueprints for the hospital show it would replace the city’s Hospital Instruction Of Armées Laveran facility in the northern district of Marseille within the next 10 years.

To help push the project forward, the French government said €300million (£259m) would be pumped into construction work.

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Meanwhile, a further €240million (£207.4m) worth of investment into the city’s other hospital, the Assistance-Publique des Hôpitaux de Marseille, the head of state added.

The Frenchman said: “In some places, the current military hospital no longer meets healthcare or safety standards, (…) it would be very difficult, if not impossible in some respects, to renovate it, it would be too expensive and it would disrupt the healthcare on offer.

“This new-generation hospital will have to meet the needs of our armed forces for decades to come. It will be a hub and incubator of skills, and a fully autonomous defence tool, so that we can better engage in combat and better receive our wounded.”

Mr Macron added that the hospital would combine “medical science and specific military features, this establishment will be even more agile, more modular, adaptable to different health situations in peacetime, as well as in times of crisis”.

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This would make the hospital “consistent” with the support offered in Toulon’s Sainte-Anne Armed Forces Training Hospital, another French military facility.

In a separate tweet, Mr Macron concluded: “It will meet the needs of our armed forces for decades to come and will be fully integrated into the local healthcare system.”

Gilbert Collard, a French MEP, was among opponents critical of Mr Macron’s decision, claiming the move was “anxiety-provoking”.

He added on Twitter: “Anything to trigger anxiety!”

Last year, Mr Macron and his minister, Brigitte Bourguignon, placed health firmly at the centre of his plans for France as he created his vision on how hospitals in the nation should run.

France, like many European nations, is still counting the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic, and data in 2022 showed that at least 120 emergency services across the country had been forced to close or reduce its capacity due to staff shortages.

Ms Bourguignon, in charge of health, said: “At the crossroads of a highly solicited town medicine and a hospital caught between the reinforcement of programmed courses and the difficult return to normality after the crisis, the emergencies accumulate the difficulties of the system.”

During a visit to a French hospital, Mr Macron added: “From July, I would like to launch a conference of stakeholders on health as well as on education.”

Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.

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