On the eve of the July 14 ceremony, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron praised the role of the armed forces in the fight against the pandemic on Monday as part of Operation Resilience. The Head of State also spoke at length with the families of soldiers who lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

President Emmanuel Macron on Monday paid tribute to the armed forces for their contribution to the fight against the pandemic in the context of Operation Resilience, on the eve of a ceremony on July 14 in reduced format, Covid-19 requires. "Thank you and well done," he said to the military community gathered in the gardens of the Hôtel de Brienne, in the presence of the Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly. "Faced with the violent onset of the pandemic in the heart of our country, faced with the unprecedented health crisis he had to face, you immediately responded present (...) You were faithful to your deep vocation, that of being, in the turmoil, the last bulwark of the Nation and the ferment of its resilience, "argued the Head of State.

President pays tribute to fallen soldiers

Before an audience of guests narrowed to less than 500 people, half made up of families of soldiers killed or injured in operations during the past year, Emmanuel Macron also saluted the memory of the deceased personnel, including the 13 soldiers who died in late 2019 in the collision of two helicopters in Mali. "On the external theaters, on our soil, in metropolitan France and in our Overseas Territories, 31 soldiers of our armies were killed with the enemy or died in operational mission. Their life given for the fatherland obliges us. And I want , pay them a solemn tribute this evening, "he said before talking at length with the bereaved families, after his speech.

In the Sahel, where 5,100 French soldiers are deployed within the framework of the anti-jihadist operation Barkhane, "the work of our armies has allowed notable progress, recognized victories, I congratulate you", he reaffirmed, stressing that he would have "at the end of the year to make decisions again on our engagement in this theater of operations".

"The Mediterranean cannot build lasting peace without us"

Regarding the Mediterranean area, which "will be the challenge for the coming years as there are many crisis factors associated with it", the French president considered it "crucial" that Europe remains in control of its destiny, without leaving it to "other powers", without naming Turkey and Russia. "Europe has to redefine its role and its place there, without naivety and without complacency" because "the Mediterranean cannot build a lasting peace without us, we cannot accept that our future is built by other powers", a he declared.

Whether it is the worsening of the Libyan crisis, where Turkey and Russia are in a position of strength, the tensions in the eastern Mediterranean where several powers like Turkey, Israel, Egypt or Greece are in competition for energy resources, the factors tensions have multiplied on this sea for years.

Reassuring on the means

The Head of State finally wanted to reassure the military on maintaining the increased financial resources promised under the 2019-2025 Military Programming Law, while the economic shock caused by the health crisis raised fears that it would be called into question of this budget increase.

"Europe is facing the return of powers, the disinhibition of behavior, the use of force and intimidation, while multilateralism is weakened and our American ally seems to be questioning its strategic objectives", a said Emmanuel Macron. "In this context, we must continue the effort initiated to strengthen and modernize our defense tool (...) Count on me, I will stay the course (...) so that you can always have the means to accomplish your missions, "he said.