France is at war.

The enemy is called "Mercury", a powerful state that has deployed separatist militias in the territory of "Arnland".

To counter this destabilization operation, Paris decided on a risky intervention in this allied country with the objective of setting up a bridgehead in an area controlled by the enemy.

After a preparation phase, the "Orion 23" exercise entered the heart of the matter this weekend with a vast airborne operation on Saturday in the Tarn then an amphibious landing of 700 soldiers and 150 vehicles on the Mediterranean coast on Sunday.

Amphibious landing in Sète, following the exercise #Orion23 #AFP pic.twitter.com/QpGOsLPiD8

— Daphne Benoit (@phnou) February 26, 2023

"The latest amphibious operations carried out by France concerned the evacuation of nationals, in Yemen in 2015 and in Côte d'Ivoire in 2012", recalls Lieutenant Dewy, head of the amphibious flotilla mobilized this Sunday.

Hence the importance for the army to repeat its ranges by projecting itself into a large-scale conflict after twenty years of anti-jihadist struggle.

For French soldiers, the last theater opening of this magnitude in real conditions dates back to Operation Serval in Mali, in 2012, when French soldiers took over the city of Timbuktu.

"This preparation is absolutely essential, and I hope that in the future, it will be reproduced regularly so that we regain know-how in terms of managing large joint forces that we have lost since for two decades, we we are focused on small operations in small spaces and relatively limited means", General Vincent Desportes explains to RFI.

Ukraine in everyone's mind

Land, sea, air, space, cyber... In this scenario of international crisis, all the components of the army find themselves on a war footing.

A scenario worked for three years, whose relevance the raging war in Ukraine has confirmed.

In a context of upheaval in global geopolitics, the use of force is no longer a taboo and the prospect of a major conflict is no longer science fiction.

"The conflict in Ukraine teaches us again about high-intensity warfare", which is played out "on the whole register of modern warfare", explains General Nicolas Le Nen, commander of joint operations.

>> To read also: "War in Ukraine, what French military aid?"

Cyber ​​incidents are provoked in particular to test the response of the troops, specifies Captain Olivier, of the cyber command.

And on a simulated social network, "we produce narratives so as not to let the opponent's story be imposed", he underlines.

This exercise campaign involves a series of European partners including Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy and Spain, as well as the United States.

After several decades of cuts, Emmanuel Macron has promised the armies a budget of more than 400 billion euros over the period 2024-2030, within the framework of the future military programming law (LPM), i.e. a third more than the envelope of the previous LPM.

The ambition of the government is both to modernize the armies but also to replenish stocks of ammunition, the level of which is considered "worrying" by a recent parliamentary report, in the event of a high intensity conflict.

12,000

soldiers

mobilized in the spring

With an estimated cost of 35 million euros, "Orion" is on an unprecedented scale.

The army had not conducted an exercise of this level for more than twenty years.

Essential to prepare for the worst-case scenario, these shows of force also serve to deter rival powers from taking hostile action.

After the big maneuvers of this weekend, the French troops must invest the Gardiole massif, north of Frontignan.

A phase that will continue until March 11.

But the climax of the exercise is expected in the spring when the armies will simulate a high-intensity air-land confrontation against the fictitious state "Mercury", with the deployment of 12,000 soldiers in northeastern France.

Between these two major sequences, a civil-military phase will be centered on the various means of civil support to the armies in the event of a major engagement (health, transport, etc.), reserves and the information struggle.

The exercise should end in May and should mobilize 2,300 vehicles, 40 helicopters, a hundred drones or even 30 buildings of the national navy, including the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

With AFP

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