France has announced plans to boost defence spending by more than 40 per cent, bringing it into line with NATO targets after complaints from US President Donald Trump that Europe is not pulling its weight. European NATO members have come under pressure from Trump to relieve the burden on the US, which currently accounts for about 70 per cent of combined NATO defence spending. <br/><br/>The French government unveiled a bill that increases spending on the armed forces from 34.2 billion euros in 2018 to 50 billion euros in 2025, taking the defence budget from 1.82 per cent of GDP currently to a NATO target of two percent.<br/>Nuclear-armed France and Britain are the biggest military powers in the European Union.The French spending hike under new centrist President Emmanuel Macron marks a shift after years of belt-tightening in defence, which caused tension in the ranks.