Six generals who signed a controversial forum on the “disintegration” of France have received a summons to appear before a military “higher council”, according to information from Le Monde confirmed by the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
The summons, p, were sent on May 25 to these six generals of the second section ("2S"), retired but still likely to be recalled, writes the daily published Saturday.
“The procedure is underway”, we confirmed to the Ministry of the Armed Forces, specifying that the hearings should take place within “a few months”.
"The procedure is started"
The officers - out of the twenty signatory "2S" generals - are summoned - who have publicly assumed this signature in the media.
The other "2S" 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 “accusatory, outrageous and controversial tone” engages “the image of the armies”, according to Le Monde.
To read also "Civil war" and forum of ex-soldiers: who are the signatories?
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 “disintegration” which they believe is hitting the country and say they are “ready to support policies which will take into consideration the safeguard of the nation.” A second forum, evoking a risk of “civil war” in France, was since signed by active soldiers who have not been identified.