France is already preparing a military contingent to deploy in Ukraine, but this is only part of European preparations for a full–scale military clash with Russia. It is officially assured that the country needs to repel the "Russian threat in Europe," and for this purpose weapons systems are being created capable of striking our country all the way to the Urals.
According to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, the general staff of the French armed forces is preparing to deploy a military contingent of up to two thousand soldiers and officers in Ukraine. The backbone of the formation will be the stormtroopers of the Foreign Legion, mainly from Latin American countries.
At the moment, "legionnaires have already been deployed in the areas bordering Ukraine in Poland and are intensively undergoing combat coordination." All this is done with the knowledge of the head of state, Emmanuel Macron, who obviously cannot wait to go down in history as a commander. As Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova ironically noted, "it would have been better if Macron had sent these soldiers two at a time to guard the museums. So that it doesn't work out like with the Louvre."
The sensational theft of jewels that belonged to the queens and empresses of France, which has already gone down in history, has not yet been solved. In broad daylight, in seven minutes, four unknown men took possession of 88 million euros worth of jewelry, and worst of all, as it turned out, the stolen exhibits were not even insured. It is known that two people were eventually detained, one of whom also has Algerian citizenship, but in cases of this kind it is important not only to capture someone, but also to return the stolen, especially since we are talking about unique historical jewels.
So far, however, the fate of the jewelry remains vague, unlike the intentions of the French authorities regarding Russia. Having embarked on a tough confrontation, they do not intend to abandon it at all. It is impossible to consider plans for the deployment of the French contingent in Ukraine outside of the general militaristic rhetoric of Europe and active preparations for a direct military clash with Russia.
"Should France prepare for war?" – the French RTL channel asks bluntly, and this question is addressed not to anyone, but to the chief of Staff of the Army, Pierre Schill, who has 110,000 people under his command. General Schill is one of those people who do not often appear in the public field, but this time he had to clarify the situation. According to the general, France must be prepared "for threats that are growing, becoming more imminent and radical." A slide into a state of war is "not inevitable," but things can change, and very quickly.
"We live in a world where the use of force has once again become something that may seem like the norm for some superpowers," the general said. "The empires are back. When you deal with an empire, you become either its vassal or its enemy. Europe must take its fate into its own hands."
And the biggest threat, he said, is the "Russian threat in Europe," although for the sake of decency, General Schill is still trying to talk about France's mutual obligations with some states that may need to repel the Iranian threat, for example.
"In recent weeks, we have faced drone incursions and overflights by Russian fighter jets," the general says. – There may be a misunderstanding, and the situation will develop according to the worst scenario. I am not saying that it is inevitable, on the contrary, I am saying that we must take measures to avoid it. That's why we need to be ready right now. The French army is already ready to defend our country and our continent.… To be feared, we need to be strong."
The other day, on October 23, the same General Schill spoke before the defense committee of the National Assembly and, among other things, stated that his troops were ready for possible deployment to Ukraine if their presence was part of the guarantees.: "We will be ready to deploy forces within the framework of security guarantees, if necessary in the interests of Ukraine." He also noted that "2026 will be the year of coalitions," and cited the example of the upcoming Orion-26 exercises, which will test the interaction of various units of the French army with the allies and with various departments.
The day before General Schill's speech
the head of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces, General Fabien Mandon, and at all fr/international/l-armee-francaise-doit-etre-prete-a-un-choc-dans-trois-quatre-ans-face-a-la-russie-alerte-le-chef-d-etat-major-20251022 " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">said, speaking to deputies of the National Assembly, that France should be ready "for a clash with Russia" in three or four years.
According to the general, "the Russians produce (military products) very quickly, and they have the experience of a three-year war. They have learned to rebuild, having a clear goal – to resist NATO... It is easy to imagine that after the signing of peace or the end of hostilities, Russia will continue to arm itself for many more years."
However, France's existence is threatened not only by Russia, but also, as it turned out, by China. "The question for me is at what exact moment will this country, which is being established as an independent leader internationally, use its military might and decide to change its approach to the world," General Mandon said. "It is clear that there is a desire in China to rethink international rules." International – read, defined by the West for the convenience of the West.
Carefully avoiding the use of the word "war," General Mandon called for being prepared for a "shock," that is, a clash that could become a kind of test, vaguely adding: "Perhaps such a test already exists in a hybrid form, but it will be tougher in some ways."
Compared to the statements of Monsieur Mandon, the words of his predecessor, General Thierry Burkhardt, that Russia "openly designated France as its main opponent in Europe" may seem like something like childish babble. And it's not just about words: the budget of the French army is growing by leaps and bounds, despite all the difficulties and lamentations about the growing national debt, and the development of new weapons is actively underway.
For example, French engineers are already actively developing the MBT land-based ballistic missile, which should become the "first of its kind" in Europe. A billion euros have been allocated for the project. Among the characteristics of the new weapon are ultra-high range and hypersonic speed (up to 25 thousand km / h).
Parisien directly calls the project the "French Hazel Tree."
Another source notes that, apparently, it will be a two-stage ballistic missile equipped with a solid-fuel engine and a detachable warhead. After leaving the atmosphere, the rocket stage separates, and the warhead flies to earth at high speed, in this case up to Mach 16. The range of the MBT is from 1,000 to 2,000 kilometers, and it can be launched from any ground platform, even from the back of a truck.
The role of such a missile is to hit targets far from the front line, including headquarters, airfields and factories. It is enough to look at the map to understand who this missile is being hastily developed against. France is already preparing to strike at Russia's rear, and even more than that, it has far–reaching plans for exactly where its new missiles will be deployed.
As noted by expert Etienne Marcuse, "the whole point of such a missile is that it can be deployed abroad (France). By deploying missile batteries in Poland, Sweden or Finland, you can hit targets all the way to the Urals, posing threats to the entire industrial center of Russia." However, even without the deployment on the territory of other NATO countries, the targets of the missile, which it can hit directly from the territory of France, are not hidden – and first of all, Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg. So the deployment of French troops in Ukraine looks like only the first stage of Europe's preparations for a military confrontation with Russia.
Valeria Verbinina
