Brest (AFP)

Emmanuel Macron will meet the foams on Tuesday, these young teens enlisting in the navy, and board a frigate in Brest to present his wishes to the armies, this year focused on training and equal opportunities.

As tradition dictates, the Head of State will take advantage of this ceremony to provide an overview of the major military challenges of 2021, from intervention in the Sahel to budgetary issues, while more and more voices are heard. 'asked in France about the continuation of Operation Barkhane eight years after the start of the anti-jihadist military intervention.

The executive is considering reducing the number of soldiers engaged, currently around 5,100.

But the head of state should not make any announcements on this subject in Brest, according to his entourage, in the run-up to a summit with his counterparts from the G5 Sahel (Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad) , scheduled for February in N'Djaména.

Emmanuel Macron is expected at the beginning of the afternoon in the main naval base on the Atlantic coast, which notably hosts nuclear submarines.

If he had embarked aboard one of these flagships of the French fleet in 2017, Emmanuel Macron will this time visit the Naval Instruction Center, a huge building overlooking the harbor of Brest which brings together three schools and two training centers. keep on going.

The objective is, according to the Elysee, to salute "the excellence of training in the armed forces, carrying a Republican promise of equal opportunities and progression to merit", two principles that the chief of the state since his election.

The Brest base notably hosts the Ecole des Mousses, which trains around 220 young people aged 16 to 18 each year wishing to join the Navy from the third or second year.

They follow both military and maritime training and classical education provided by the National Education.

With the key, a four-year contract with the Navy.

For some of its recruits, in a situation of academic failure, this school plays an integrating role, like the Ministry of the Armed Forces which recruits more than 20,000 young people per year (26,000 in 2020) and claims its role as " social staircase ".

The armed forces, France's leading recruiter for 17-30 year olds looking for a first job, offer several social measures, such as voluntary military service (SMV) or adapted military service (SMA), intended for young people from Overseas.

The economic and social devastation linked to the Covid-19 health crisis could well strengthen their attractiveness.

- Financial resources maintained -

After this visit, Emmanuel Macron will board the multifunction frigate Bretagne to meet his crew, before joining the Maritime Prefecture in the presence of the Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly, the Minister Delegate Geneviève Darrieussecq and the main officers, including the Chief of Staff François Lecointre.

During his greeting speech, the Head of State should take stock of the military situation for 2020, in particular by paying tribute to the soldiers who died in combat, and look at the challenges of 2021.

Emmanuel Macron now maintains peaceful relations with the army after a stormy start to his five-year term marked by the thunderous departure of General Pierre de Villiers in 2017.

"Count on me, I will stay the course," he said last July to reassure the military on the maintenance of the increased financial resources promised under the 2019-2025 Military Programming Law, despite the economic shock caused by the Covid-19 crisis.

The 2021 budget for the Armed Forces amounts to 39.2 billion euros, up for the third consecutive year (+ 4.5% over one year).

© 2021 AFP