Soldiers from Operation Resilience in Lille. - M.Libert / 20 Minutes

  • The military operation Résilience was launched at the end of March by Emmanuel Macron.
  • The military is supporting the fight against the coronavirus epidemic.
  • In Hauts-de-France, the role of soldiers is essentially logistical.
  • However, they sometimes carry out more unusual missions.

On March 25, in Mulhouse, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, announced the launch of Operation Resilience. The aim was to involve the army in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic. All over the territory, the soldiers assigned to the operation carry out missions focused on three areas: logistics, protection and health. In Hauts-de-France, they can sometimes take on a more unusual appearance.

Transport of masks and hydroalcoholic gel by the soldiers of Operation Resilience. - M.Libert / 20 Minutes

This Monday morning, in front of the headquarters of the Regional Health Agency (ARS), in Lille, large military trucks parked in double file. Armed soldiers stationed nearby secured the area, watching. In the center of all these attentions, several pallets loaded with boxes containing inscriptions in Chinese. “There are approximately 300,000 surgical masks and 2,300 liters of hydroalcoholic gel from donations. Everything will be conveyed during the day by the military to the hospitals in Dunkirk, Saint-Omer and Lille, ”explains Etienne Champion, director general of ARS Hauts-de-France. Since the start of Operation Resilience, the army has already transported a million masks and ten tonnes of gel on behalf of the ARS.

Linen, military yoga and organic cleaning

If the transport of this type of material constitutes the main part of the logistical activity of the soldiers of Resilience, they sometimes help where they are least expected. “For the Lille hospital center, for example, we take care of laundry loads. It allows them to be relieved of this task, ”says Christophe Launois, assistant general engagement in the North security and defense zone.

Transport of masks and hydroalcoholic gel by the soldiers of Operation Resilience. - M.Libert / 20 Minutes

Among the more unusual missions, there is also what the general calls military yoga: "It is a technique of optimizing potential which is usually intended for soldiers returning from theaters of external operations and which helps them to master their stress ”, explains the superior officer. As part of Resilience, this technique is given during weekly sessions at the Douai hospital at the request of the nursing staff.

Within companies or communities, very specialized soldiers intervene to give training in "bio cleaning". “They are experts from the NRBC, such as nuclear, radiological, bacteriological and chemical. They know the places where biological agents are deposited most frequently and therefore need to be cleaned. They explain their techniques and give advice ”, continues the general. Common sense in large part, "that we can take with more seriousness when it is exposed by soldiers in uniform", jokes Christophe Launois.

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  • Covid 19
  • Coronavirus
  • Logistics
  • Military
  • Lille