Controversial forum: six generals summoned before a "higher council"

Six generals who signed a controversial forum on the “

” of France have received a summons to appear before a

military “

”, according to information from Le Monde confirmed by the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

Read also: The new military platform agitates the political class

The summons, signed by the Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly, were sent on May 25 to these six generals of the second section ("

"), retired but still likely to be recalled, writes the daily published Saturday, June 12.

“

”, we confirmed to the Ministry of the Armed Forces, specifying that the hearings should take place within “a

”.

The officers - out of the twenty

signatory

"

"

generals - are summoned

- who have publicly assumed this signature in the media.

The other "

" received a letter asking them if they confirmed having signed the platform.

Depending on their response, they will in turn be summoned or not.

In the summons, the Ministry of the Armed Forces considers that this text with “

” engages “

”, according to Le Monde. These high-ranking signatories incur delisting, warned at the end of April the chief of staff of the armed forces, General François Lecointre.

One of them, General Emmanuel de Richoufftz, was aide-de-camp to Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy in the early 1980s. Another, Christian Piquemal, former boss of the Foreign Legion, was already struck off in 2016 for having participated in a prohibited demonstration against migrants in Calais. At the end of the procedure before the Superior Council - composed of generals belonging to the same army corps (land, air, sea) - the last word in matters of sanction falls to the President of the Republic, head of the armed forces.

The 18 active soldiers also identified among the signatories - including four officers - for their part disassociated themselves from the rostrum with the exception of one (the 18th declared himself foreign to the text and invoked the usurpation of 'identity). Sanctions will nevertheless be pronounced against them. But they will be adapted in view of their change of position.

The column, published by Valeurs Actuelles on April 21, calls on President Emmanuel Macron to defend patriotism. The signatories denounce the "

" which they believe is hitting the country and say they are "

". A second forum, evoking a risk of "

" in France, has since been signed by active soldiers who have not been identified.