The rumor had been circulating for a long time.
General Lecointre's days as Chief of Staff of the Armies were numbered.
The announcement is now official.
The CEMA confirmed to the RTL le Figaro LCI Grand Jury on Sunday its intention, in agreement with the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, to leave his post "
after July 14
".
The announcement comes a few days after Emmanuel Macron's decision to end Operation Barkhane and transform the French system in the Sahel.
To read also: General Lecointre: "We are heading towards a reorganization of the world order"
General Lecointre's successor will have the heavy task of accompanying this gradual withdrawal with the bitter taste of failure. While the 2020 “surge” made it possible to achieve tactical success and reduce the jihadist threat in Mali, it was not followed by a political surge capable of responding to the structural disorder in the region. General Lecointre is preparing to leave his post without having succeeded in turning the game around. There will never be a decisive military victory in Mali, he used to say fatally.
General Thierry Burkhard, Chief of Staff of the Army will succeed him as CEMA.
The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces commands all of France's military operations and ensures the proper functioning of the institution.
General Lecointre could still have been kept at his post.
He did not want it even if the president "
asked him to stay longer
".
We must avoid imagining that a CEMA is chosen for his political opinions
General Lecointre
Concerned about the place of the Armies within French society and its link with the nation, General Lecointre advanced an argument to obtain the agreement of the Head of State: the appointment of the CEMA should not coincide with the presidential election to "
avoid the politicization of the office
". “
The two calendars must be separated. We must avoid imagining that a CEMA is chosen for his political opinions. A "tiling" allows business continuity. It is good that my successor can ensure continuity or a break in continuity if the [elected] president chooses new directions, ”
he explained. While the hypothesis of a victory for Marine Le Pen in 2022 cannot be ruled out,General Lecointre's decision resonates particularly well.
In a period of pre-electoral political tension, the armies fear the effects of amalgamation. Within the institution, any political debate is taboo in the name of the duty of reserve to which the soldiers are bound. Sociologically the armies lean to the right. The texts published by Current Values, by breaking the silence, aroused unease. In two forums, signed by former generals and then anonymous soldiers, the signatories denounced the disintegration of France and criticized their hierarchy. They do not correspond to a majority position of the military. They shocked internally. In a significant historical parallel, General Lecointre said he was "
scandalized"
, as a young officer, by the platform signed by generals in 1988. These high-ranking soldiers - much more than those of 2021 - had called to vote Jacques Chirac against François Mitterrand.
"
It was contrary to the functioning of democratic life
," said General Lecointre.
Complex relationships
The CEMA did not live the personal accusations against him last spring. The case marred the end of his term and his relationship with the president. Between the Head of State, Chief of the Armed Forces, and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, relations are complex and require perfect understanding. Between Emmanuel Macron and General de Villiers, General Lecointre's predecessor, trust was quickly broken. Not because of a budgetary dispute: admittedly in 2017 the army budget was reduced by some 700 million euros, but the president had undertaken to increase the appropriations in the following years. General de Villiers was also used to this type of negotiation. But an annoyed comment from the general that leaked to the press provoked a scathing reply from Emmanuel Macron. "
I am your leader,
”he said on July 13, 2017 in front of an audience of officers including General de Villiers.
Humiliated, he resigned.
General Lecointre was appointed head of the armies in this very specific context.
"
I was not appointed to reweave the links between the nation and the armies
", specified General Lecointre.
I was not appointed to reweave the links between the nation and the armies
General Lecointre
Intellectual, hero of the battle of Vrbanja in Bosnia in May 1995, where the young captain fought with a bayonet to regain the bridge from the Serbian forces and defend the honor of France, General Lecointre will have spent 4 years accompanying the "
revival of armies
". With a military programming law of 295 billion euros between 2019 and 2025, the effort is supposed to make it possible to "
catch up
" the cuts imposed by the years of crisis, famine or economy.
However, disagreements persisted between the armies and the Elysee. Military resources remain limited compared to the threats described in the Strategic Review. General Lecointre never ceases to raise the specter of the return of a “high intensity” conflict facing an adversary with means as efficient as those of France. "
The current military programming law today aims to consolidate this model of a complete army
," he confided recently. With this "complete" model, the armies retain, sometimes at a minimum, all the skills. "
It is not aimed at a rise in power or the acquisition of a mass that would allow the army to engage in a major state conflict,
" he added.
