The great mute, or rather some of its former members, emerge from the silence.
In a column published in the weekly "Current values" on Wednesday entitled "for a return of the honor of our rulers", the military for the most part retired or dismissed ask French leaders to act in the face of the threat of " civil war ".
Denouncing the “culpable silences” of the government, they insinuate that active soldiers could be tempted to take up arms in order to remedy this “disintegration” of society.
Who are the signatories of this forum?
According to "Current values", they are more than a thousand soldiers - "about twenty generals", "a hundred high-ranking officers", "more than a thousand other soldiers" to have signed the platform.
On the top of the stack is the name of General Christian Piquemal, struck off army executives in 2016 for having organized an anti-migrant demonstration a few months earlier in Calais, despite a prefectural ban.
The complete list of signatories is not published by the weekly, but it is available on the Place d'Armes blog, "open to all retired, active and reserve soldiers who love France and achieve that this one is on the edge of the abyss ”.
This site is the baby of Jean-Pierre Fabre-Bernadac, former commander of the gendarmerie, at the origin of the platform.
Read also "Article 36": what if the military took power?
In total, the list has more than 1,200 signatures.
As to whether they are those of retired soldiers or whether members of the "active" - soldiers currently in post - impossible to determine for the time being.
"We are watching," slips a source in the entourage of the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
Because new names have gradually been added to the initial list.
It remains to verify among these new names the existence of homonyms, or to ensure that the said signatories are indeed there because they have chosen it.
The verification should take a little while.
"For the moment, that seems to be the case," we put into perspective in the entourage of Minister Florence Parly.
If active soldiers have signed the platform, an internal investigation will be systematically opened.
What does the letter say?
In a text depicting a "France in danger", the signatories denounce a "disintegration which strikes our homeland", through "a certain anti-racism" which would aim according to them to "create on our soil a malaise, even a hatred between them. communities ”.
Pointing to "Islamism and the suburban hordes", they call on French leaders to "find the courage necessary to eradicate these dangers" by applying "without weakness the laws that already exist".
"Like us, a large majority of our fellow citizens are overwhelmed by your shifts and your guilty silences," she said.
What repercussions?
In a tweet published on Sunday, the Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly condemned "an irresponsible forum", "only signed by retired soldiers, who no longer have any function in our armies and only represent themselves".
No significant member of the majority had spoken on this matter before her.
This Monday, the Minister Delegate in charge of Industry, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, for her part spoke on Franceinfo "a quarteron of generals in Charentaise" which should not be given more importance.
"We just have to condemn without reservation and move on," she said.
In the opposition, the president of the National Rally Marine Le Pen did not wait for Sunday to be moved from the platform, in a completely different tone.
"I invite you to join our action to take part in the battle which is opening [...] which is above all the battle for France", she replied to the signatories, in "VA" again, two days after publication.
Note that Marine Le Pen plays on a confusion that suits her: the irresponsible column published in Valeurs Actuelles is only signed by retired soldiers, who no longer have any function in our armies and only represent themselves.
- Florence Parly (@florence_parly) April 25, 2021
“As a citizen and as a politician, I subscribe to your analyzes and share your grief,” she added.
This is good, the signatories say in the forum "prepared to support policies which will take into consideration the safeguard of the nation".
Threat of coup d'etat or sword in the water?
The hypothesis of a coup d'etat is hardly concealed.
"If nothing is done, laxity will continue to spread inexorably in society, ultimately causing an explosion and the intervention of our active comrades in a perilous mission of protecting our civilizational values and safeguarding our compatriots. on the national territory ”, let know the retired soldiers.
As it stands, it is difficult to know if this forum goes beyond the framework of "soldiers in Charente" portrayed by the majority or if it can have relays within active soldiers.
Read alsoSoldiers with neo-Nazi ideas in the French army, the ministry wants "no tolerance"
What is certain is the tribune first of all appeals to its original character, for men accustomed to silence and the duty of reserve.
"This position is unprecedented under the Fifth Republic since it in no way affects military affairs and the defense budget", comments Antoine Vauchez, director of research in political sociology at the CNRS.
