The Great Mute emerges from the silence.
In a series of messages posted on Twitter, the spokesperson for the Ministry of the Armed Forces, Hervé Grandjean, wished to return to the “
reactions
” aroused by “
Eric Zemmour's visit to our soldiers in Abidjan
”, to specify “
within which framework this visit was authorized
”.
“
Politicians can visit military units, if they so request and while respecting operational and confidentiality requirements.
It is a very common and legitimate republican practice
, ”recalls the senior official first.
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Among the many recommendations that govern each trip of this type, the Hôtel de Brienne systematically demands "
to carry out these visits with the greatest discretion
", namely: "
no media, no photos for public use, no social networks
".
A code of conduct deemed "
essential
" to "
preserve the neutrality of the armies, and to avoid any political instrumentalisation
".
“
This moral commitment that we ask of the presidential candidates was not kept today by a candidate.
We regret it,
”finally laments the engineer by training.
Macron and Castex forced to cancel visits due to fifth wave
In question, the publication by the nationalist candidate, on his Twitter account, of several photos where he appears in the middle of several soldiers, of which he systematically took care to hide the face. "
I am honored to have visited the logistics base of Operation Barkhane today, in Côte d'Ivoire
," he wrote in particular in a first message. Before detailing, in another, his desire to "
increase and modernize the means
" of the army, "
to give back to our defense the means to shine
", and "to
regain the independence of our military means
".
Used to also visiting French troops engaged in external theaters during the Christmas period, Emmanuel Macron was forced to give up his traditional trip to Mali this year, because of the epidemic resumption.
The president, who had already had to cancel due to Covid-19 in the winter of 2020, went to Niamey (Niger) in 2017, then to N'Djamena (Chad) in 2018, and finally to Abidjan (Côte d 'Ivoire) in 2019. Prime Minister Jean Castex, who had planned to spend the New Year with soldiers in Jordan, also had to give up.