France's public investment bank, Bpifrance, will launch a €450 million ($490 million) fund to finance defence projects, Finance Minister Eric Lombard announced on Thursday. The fund is part of France's efforts to boost military spending amid concerns over Russia and uncertainty about US security commitments. French citizens will be able to invest in the fund in €500 increments, Lombard told TF1c, as cited by Reuters. The defence and finance ministries estimate that French defence firms will require over €5 billion in additional equity in the coming years. President Emmanuel Macron, who has already doubled France's defence budget during his tenure, has set a new target to raise military spending to 3-3.5 per cent of GDP from the current 2 per cent. Attribution: Reuters Subediting: M. S. Salama