French servicemen opposed the violence in the country and the fact that "hatred" for the republic and its history "is becoming the norm."
This is stated in their address to President Emmanuel Macron and other government officials, published by the weekly Valeurs actuelles.
More than 160 thousand people have already signed the document.
“We see violence in our cities and villages.
We see how the idea of the dominant role of society is taking root in public space, in public discourse, ”their statement says.
"We see how hatred for France and its history is becoming the norm."
The appeal also expresses support for the retired generals of France, who issued an open letter in April calling for an end to the destruction of the republic.
“Yes, our senior comrades were right in the essence of their text, in general ... These people fought against all the enemies of France, and you treated them as rebels, while their only sin was love for their country and mourning its apparent decline ... They sacrificed their lives to eradicate Islamism, to which you are making concessions on our territory, ”the French army representatives said in a letter.
In their opinion, the source of chaos and violence in the country may be "not a" military coup ", but an uprising of citizens."
“A civil war is smoldering in France, and you are well aware of this ... Gentlemen, take action.
We are talking about the survival of our country, your country, ”the military said.
The appeal of the representatives of the army was commented on by the French minister with delegated authority for industry Agnes Panier-Runeche on the air of radio Sud Radio.
She called it a "political appeal", which, in her words, "contradicts the principles of the army, in particular military service."
“The military, or those who represent them, use the concepts of the extreme right and, by the way, the same words as the National Unity party,” she notes.
In her opinion, it is like using political instruments.
“To pose a problem is one thing, but to call for riots under the pretext of protecting order is sometimes alarming,” she said.
Let us remind you that at the end of April, an open letter from the retired French military, including former generals, was published, in which it was stated that the republic was being destroyed "because of Islamism and gangs from sleeping areas."
All this "leads to the separation from the country of many of its parts, and they become territories that obey dogmas that contradict" the French constitution, the document says.
“Who could have imagined ten years ago that one day a teacher would be beheaded at the exit of his school?” Wrote retired military personnel.
They also called on the current authorities to resolve the situation.
“Do not forget that, like us, most of our compatriots are tired of your evasions and your guilty silence,” the appeal underlines.
French military in Paris patrol streets after terrorist attacks
Reuters
© Benoit Tessier
According to the retired generals, now "is not the time to delay the resolution of the issue, otherwise tomorrow the civil war will put an end to this growing chaos, the number of victims will go to the thousands, and you will be responsible for this."
“And if, on the contrary, nothing is done, connivance will inevitably continue to spread in society, which will ultimately provoke an explosion and the intervention of our active comrades-in-arms in a dangerous mission to protect the values of our civilization and save our compatriots living on the national territory,” says the document.
The statement of the retired military was greeted by the leader of the French National Unification movement Marine Le Pen.
At the same time, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, General François Lecointre, told Parisien that "disciplinary punishments" await the reserve soldiers who signed the open letter.
Amid terrorist attacks
As the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic Gerald Darmanen said at the end of April on the air of the BFMTV channel, the fight against Islamist terrorism will continue for years.
Prior to this, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said during a press conference that the terrorist threat in the country remains extremely high.
He also recalled the last three attacks.
On April 23, a native of Tunisia attacked a law enforcement officer near Paris with a knife, she died.
The man died from the wounds he received during his arrest.
The attack by the French authorities was classified as a terrorist attack.
Macron, commenting on the incident, promised that France would not surrender in the fight against terrorism.
Police in the area of the terrorist attack in the center of Nice, October 29, 2020
Reuters
© Eric Gaillard / Pool
Two more cases occurred in the fall of last year.
First, on October 16, in a suburb of Paris, 18-year-old Abdulakh Anzorov beheaded teacher Samuel Pati;
as reported by the French media, due to the fact that the teacher showed at the lecture on freedom of speech cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
The attacker was shot dead by the police.
Macron called the incident a terrorist attack.
And two weeks later, a man attacked parishioners in a church in the center of Nice.
As a result, three people died, including a 44-year-old citizen from Brazil, mother of three children.
As the mayor of the city noted, the crime was committed by a “radicalized Muslim”.
This case was also identified by Paris as a terrorist attack.
"Deeply splits society"
Yuri Rubinsky, head of the Center for French Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted that thousands of retirees and active military personnel quite rightly demand that the authorities restore order in the country "which suffers from radical Islamism."
For Paris, this "phenomenon is quite alarming," the analyst said.
“All this looks almost like a threat that the army will interfere in political life and remove the civil authorities from decision-making.
But an armed mutiny by the French units now, of course, should not be expected.
It is rather a signal to the political elites during the already unfolding election campaign before the presidential elections, which are scheduled for May 2022, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.
Rubinsky stated that Macron and Marine Le Pen will be the leading contenders for the head of the republic.
“Recently, the gap between them has noticeably decreased.
And the demarches of the former and the current military will undoubtedly have an impact on the final results of the presidential elections in France, ”the analyst said.
According to the director of the Institute of the Newest States, political scientist Alexei Martynov, the retired military and active representatives of the army, with their appeals, are trying to push the authorities to solve problems related to Islamist-minded immigrants.
“This is a kind of blackmail.
In reality, of course, they will not resort to an uprising, otherwise such plans would not have been publicly announced.
However, the state of affairs in which traditional France is being destroyed, as veterans of military service and active military personnel talk about, is seen by all citizens of the Fifth Republic every day, regardless of how they feel about it, "the analyst said in a conversation with RT.
According to Martynov, such a consolidation of the military around the solution of domestic issues may lead to the formation of a "party of the military."
“Earlier, representatives of the army were traditionally among the supporters of the Republican Party.
Now they are actually making an application for independent participation in the political process, ”he said.
Rubinsky added, for his part, that the current authorities have no choice but to make condemning statements.
“They condemned the signatories and threatened with disciplinary sanctions.
After all, if the military-political leadership did not react, he would have to resign, ”he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron
Reuters
© Benoit Tessier / Pool
Rubinsky also notes that "the very subject, in connection with which former and active military personnel spoke, is indeed very deeply splitting society."
“The concern that large diasporas of immigrant population have formed in the suburbs of large cities, of which the majority are immigrants from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, remains.
The situation there is actually tense, the authorities do not feel themselves masters of the situation, unlike extremist organizations associated with Islamists and controlled from the outside, ”the analyst said.
Rubinsky summed up that now Macron is actually "between two fires."
“He, as president, cannot, to a large extent, meet halfway to the representatives of the Muslim diaspora in France, since the republic is secular, which is considered the foundation of its identity and national culture. However, many people from predominantly Muslim countries do not always understand this. Thus, there is a serious conflict of interests, which, despite some tightening of legislation, continues to be extremely relevant, ”the expert concluded.