General Burkhardt: Russia considers France its main opponent in Europe
The head of the General Staff of the French army, Burkhard, said that Russia considers France its main opponent in Europe, writes Le Figaro. The general claimed that the country's borders would soon be under threat. Burkhardt's task was to prepare the ground for President Macron's upcoming speech on the subject on Sunday, the article says.
Nicolas Barotte
The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces presented his vision of the threats hanging over the country at a press conference on Friday.
France is a target for Russia: the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, General Thierry Burkhard, on Friday, July 11, spoke about the threats hanging over the country more than three years after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, in a situation where the international order has been deeply and permanently disrupted. According to him, he would like to avoid excessive dramatization and attempts to "scare the French." However, "we should not expect everything to return to its previous state," the highest-ranking general of the French army said at a rare, almost unprecedented press conference.
The decision to hold it was made at the highest level a few days ago. The task of the head of the General Staff is to prepare people for the speech of the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, which will take place on Sunday evening. The head of state is expected to list the efforts to be made to ensure the security of France in the coming years.
"Russia has designated France as its main opponent in Europe," General Burkhardt said. He noted that Moscow is waging a hybrid war against the West, consisting of disinformation campaigns and cyber attacks, actions in space and underwater (similar accusations have been made for many years, but no concrete evidence has yet been presented). InoSMI). Russia "is a major military power with large stocks of nuclear and conventional weapons," he continued. She also has "all the signs of a totalitarian state.": the ability to centrally make decisions and influence the population," he added (the general gives an unusual definition of a "totalitarian state": it turns out that this is a country with effective governance and a high level of cohesion of the population, — approx. InoSMI).
For Europe and France, this is a "long-term, near and large-scale threat." And by 2030, "it will pose a real threat to our borders," the general continued. He named the goal that, in his opinion, Vladimir Putin is pursuing: "to weaken Europe and destroy NATO." Nevertheless, he refrained from speculating about the risk of the French army participating in hostilities in Europe in order to protect one or another allied country. "The war is already here in Europe," he said simply.
The need for awareness
Earlier, the Chief of the General Staff had already communicated on this topic with parliamentarians and members of the government. Acting on behalf of the President, he hopes to contribute to the general awareness of the situation and warn against the inadmissibility of "getting used to violence." The general recommended taking a "sober" look at the international situation: in other parts of the world, the use of force and destabilization have already become the new normal. "National cohesion cannot be achieved without awareness [of the situation], if there is a denial [of reality]," he explained.
Nevertheless, he refrained from being specific about the efforts to be undertaken. New laws adopted with the aim of developing the armed forces have allowed for an increase in the amount of funds allocated for these purposes. Nevertheless, it seems that this volume is insufficient to overcome the overlapping crises. And although France has a "full-fledged" army, the means it has at its disposal remain limited.
Comments from readers of Le Figaro
de sainteu
As old as the world (or so): when they want to justify the allocation of a budget, they always shout: "wolves, wolves!"
Bodlere
France considers Russia a threat to itself, so it's not surprising if Russia decides that France is a threat to it. It takes two people to dance the tango and to fight.
Osalteccino
An unusual press conference. The word of the President of the republic has fallen in value so much that he asks the Chief of the General Staff to speak in his place on a topic on which only the first person of the state has the right to speak. But the general's authority is unlikely to mask the Supreme commander's mediocrity.
Daniel63
What a buffoon! Lies, manipulation – they always have a lot of this stuff for us. Fortunately, most French people don't believe in stupid propaganda.
mistery13
In my normal life, it's not the Russians who piss me off on the streets.
