INTERVIEW
"This return gives me great pleasure." Thirty years after having passed through the Air School as a student, Dominique Arbiol is returning to ... direct it. Friday, this woman general will officially take the head of the structure, which trains the officers of the Air Force. A symbolic first, which says a lot about France's desire to feminize its armies. "I appreciate all the honor that is done to me to be appointed to this prestigious position, and I obviously feel a certain pride", reacts the main interested party on Europe 1.
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A "pressure" and an "additional motivation"
"I hope to have been appointed mainly for my merits and my skills", immediately continues Dominique Arbiol, who "measures the symbolic character" of his arrival at this post. "Regardless of the genre, although I know that I will undoubtedly be a little more observed, because it is a first. It's up to me to manage this pressure which is also a reason for additional motivation."
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To get there, Dominique Arbiol climbed all the levels of the air force. “At the start of my career, I was the victim of limiting quotas, precisely linked to the number of female characters who could access certain functions,” she recalls. “As a woman, this simple limiting numerical calculation seemed to me to be truly unequal: I did not see where I had been demerit. Fortunately, this is no longer the case today. It is a very good thing that values people are recognized for their skills and talent. (...) It is really this recognition to which we all aspire. "
"All specialties are open" to women
With a professional career "particularly rich and varied", the general now hopes to inspire future vocations, while 84% of the military are men. "All specialties are open" within the Air Force, she says. "I think young women can access the profession they want."
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The army now posts the goal of 10% female generals in two years, or 50 women with stars on their shoulders.