02.06.2008
May 28, 2008 (the date of publication in Russian)
Ruslan Kostyuk
A MILITARY DOCTRINE FOR SARKOZY
The French army is going to close African bases and crack upon avian flu
As far back as in August 2007, the President of the French Republic ruled to establish a special commission of 35 members tasked to elaborate a new draft of the White Book, the French equivalent of the military doctrine. For the last time, the White Book had been amended in 1994, in the end of the Mitterrand era. Therefore, the issue was more than timely. In mid-May, the French public could get acquainted with the first general principles of the "advanced" White Book, tailored for the next fifteen years.
In accordance with the White Book 2008, the list of strategic challenges for France includes international and particular Islamic terrorism, informational attacks (sic), epidemics resulting from climate change, along with dissemination of weapons of mass destruction that "more and more frequently require non-traditional response". These challenges, in the Commission's view, suggest an "armée d'avant-garde" with a flexible structure and comprehensive inventory enabling the nation, in case of necessity, to deploy special forces to Afghanistan or the Balkans (sic), to efficiently prevent chemical and biological attacks and, particularly, to safeguard the population from an epidemic of avian flu.
A special role in the new White Book is reserved for the intelligence. Its mission, according to the authors, is to supply the French leadership with advanced knowledge (apparently also on latest modifications of the avian flu virus) and to "anticipate conspiracies of potential adversaries" (see above). The intelligence apparatus is supposed to be supervised by a special Presidential coordinator (apparently in order to prevent frequent brawls among national intelligence services). First-rate attention is also paid to the French forces of nuclear deterrence tasked to protect "the population and the territory of France".
At the same time, the doctrine follows Sarkozy's instructions on budget austerity. That means, particularly, curtailment of a number of overseas military bases, especially in Africa. The number of French foreign area servicemen is to be reduced from 50,000 to 30,000. The manpower ceiling is determined at the number of 135,000 for the infantry, 45,000 for the Navy and 6200 for the air force. Thus, the cutbacks of manpower are going to continue, the total number now comparable with the 100,000 gendarmerie.
The planned phasedown, however, does not suggest reluctance from modernization. On the contrary, France is going to establish a national aerospace brigade and a rapid reaction force. The army is going to acquire 100 new military aircrafts along with several submarines.
The White Book will come into force after being signed by the President. This is going to happen after approval from the Cabinet of Ministers expected to follow in June. The response of the French public to the new military doctrine is lukewarm. The French are more concerned with social problems, expressed in mid-May with protests of schoolteachers against neoliberal reforms in education, massive disappointment with government plans to elevate the minimal job seniority for full-scale pensioning to 41 years, as well as radicalization of the national trade union of fishermen who recently paralyzed several major seaports, getting furious over the incapability of the government to prevent increase of fuel prices.
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