General Lecointre stands alone in the middle of the courtyard of the Invalides. Sometimes he lowers his head a little, as if a thought is overwhelming him, like a sudden reserve. To his left, along the passageways, a detachment of the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment, where he served, another from the Saint-Cyr Special Military School, and another from the 9th Marine Infantry Brigade … A reminder of his career, of his rank. To his right, on the other side of the courtyard, we can see almost everything that the state has authorities. The Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, the former Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe, the Chiefs of Staff, elected officials ...
A small group of about thirty men stand out.
Porpoises.
Those who fought under the orders of François Lecointre in 1995 on the Vrbanja bridge in Bosnia, the last bayonet charge of the French army.
The assault had been victorious.
He had restored the
“dignity”
of the armies, declared President Jacques Chirac.
It was
"the symbol of the rejection of all humiliations"
, launches President Emmanuel Macron in the face of General Lecointre.
To read also:
General Lecointre: "The dangers are approaching France"
After four years at the highest rank of the institution, the chief of staff of the armed forces bids farewell to arms.
He leaves his post, replaced by General Thierry Burkhard.
François Lecointre thought the time had come.
The ceremony is imbued with solemnity that the account of the Head of State accentuates.
Relationships may have been complicated between the two of them, but the respect is mutual.
You have worked to fully restore the uniqueness of our armies.
Emmanuel Macron.
Emmanuel Macron salutes
"the charisma"
and
"finesse of mind"
of the general, he evokes his career and his confrontation with
"the unspeakable horror of the atrocities committed by ordinary people"
. The president continues:
“diplomacy”
,
“command”…
He insists on the humility of the general who knew how to remain, deep down, a soldier.
“You are still this young man who decided to serve France,”
he said. This ascetic modesty of François Lecointre is not feigned. In private, he speaks with emotion of his love of the armies, of their
“architectures”
, of their
“uniforms”
, of their
“regulations”.
sometimes obsolete, but which allow, with their rigidities, to
"fight against the dispersion of the world"
.
After the army, he plans to become a prison visitor.
To read also:
General Lecointre: "We are heading towards a reorganization of the world order"
By choosing him as the new CEMA after the resounding resignation of General de Villiers in July 2017, Emmanuel Macron assures that he wanted to
"give meaning to the command of the forces of the nation"
.
"You have worked to fully restore the singularity of our armies"
, adds the Head of State, evoking an idea dear to General Lecointre: the soldier,
"who gives death on orders and who is ready to suffer it"
, occupies a special place in society, he often repeats, railing against the
"ignorance"
of the military fact. For four years, he also fought to repair armies weakened by years of budget cuts. He has led endless wars like in the Sahel.
At the end of the speech, Emmanuel Macron joined François Lecointre in a last face-to-face. In his functions, the general claimed both his duty of subordination to political power but also a right to openness, to
"dispute"
, he said in private. The two men exchange a handshake and a few words that no one hears.
