France, April 21 -- In a letter to ministers sent Tuesday, Lecornu outlined the need for fiscal measures, estimating the war's cost to France at €billion.

Lescure, speaking to French radio station RTL Tuesday, estimated the cost of the war to be between €5 and 6 billion.

Over half of the amount, €3.6 billion, is linked to servicing the national debt which "is rising because interest rates have increased".

France's debt: how did we get here, and how dangerous is it?

He was speaking ahead of a meeting of the public finances alert committee, which may decide on further austerity measures in response to the economic impact of the war.

"We are not going to cancel anything, but we may need to take precautionary measures, ...