Without naming it, are the French Chiefs of Staff pleading for a new White Paper?

In a speech given to the cadets of the Navy at the Naval School of Lanveoc-Poulmic, near Brest, the new Chief of Staff of the National Navy, Admiral Pierre Vandier, warned the future officers that they were a generation that will probably experience fire in the sea, in other words, high intensity naval combat as it has not existed since the Falklands War in 1982. The CEMM's declaration is part of a series of speeches by the various Chiefs of Staff of the French armies which aim to alert public opinion as well. public that the political authorities of the profound change taking place in the world in terms of military capabilities, and the resulting consequences, not only on the probable increase in the number of crises they will have to face, but also on their nature, with the return ofa form of combat that has been forgotten for about thirty years, “high intensity” combat.

This is how the CEMAT (Chief of Staff of the Land Army), General Thierry Burkhard, put “high intensity” combat back at the heart of his army's doctrine, even though that was. It only has 200 Leclerc tanks, a 40-year-old heavy self-propelled artillery, and no longer has any anti-aircraft protection means other than the Mistral infantry systems. For General Philippe Lavigne, Chief of Staff of the Air Force (and Space Force recently), the speech focuses above all on the lack of depth of its forces, especially fighter aviation, which with less than 250 devices, of which only a hundred Rafale, will not be able to cope with major commitment needs over time. With regard to Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Lecointre, he had recently spoken precisely on the subject facing the national representation, alerting to the gap that is created between the needs and the potential response that the French armies may give in the years to come.

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