In case what he said a few weeks ago was not well understood, that Europe should be “prepared for a clash with Russia within three or four years”, now the chief of the French General Staff (the leader of the French Army, wow), Fabien Mandon, has gone one step further in the war rhetoric. “We have everything to dissuade Moscow, what we lack is the strength to accept harm to defend the nation. If the country fails because it is not willing to accept losing our children, […] then we are at risk“Mandon snapped during a meeting with French mayors.
The message leaves no room for metaphorical reinterpretations, but, just in case: the leader of the French Armed Forces wants the country’s families to be willing for their children to go to war, possibly even dying, to stop a hitherto hypothetical Russian attack against Europebeyond Ukraine.
Mandon’s words, which represent another step that accompanies the (France aims to spend 64,000 million euros on Defense in 2027, double what it did ten years ago), have provoked the immediate reaction of the French left. “Where is President Macron? Why do you allow it?“, asked Jean-Luc Mélenchon on social networks, who claimed to be in “total disagreement with the statements.” “It is not his responsibility. [a Mandon] invite mayors or anyone to war preparations that no one has decided on: neither the president, nor the Government, nor Parliament,” the historic French leader censured.
Similarly, the parliamentary group of La Francia Insumisa called his words “unacceptable.” “By publicly repeating these war scenarios and dramatizing them to the point of mentioning the loss of children, the chief of the Defense Staff is exceeding his duties. […] One of the fundamental principles of the Republic is that military authority is strictly subordinate to political authority. […] Such public statements, which involve the country in a war scenario, have no place in this context.“they wrote in a statement.
But not only the left, opposed to rearmament in Europe, has rejected the words of the head of the Army, also the right and the extreme right have opposed it. “They want to sacrifice our children in a suicidal war against Russia, it is completely delusional“said Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, president of the Debout la France group in statements collected by Le Figaro. Even the far-right National Rally, Marine Le Pen’s party, has accused Mandon of “overreaching”. “He has no authority to alarm the French people with alarmist statements that do not correspond to the official position of the country,” wrote Sébastien Chenu, vice president of the formation, from which, however, they do propose the return of military service.
So far, French President Emmanuel Macron has not commented on the statements of his Army chief, whom he appointed last July. Already then, Mandon assured that his mission at the head of the French Armed Forces was to prepare them for a direct war with Russia in those three or four years..
