President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the armies on the evening of Friday, December 24, expressing in a video message his "
gratitude
" to the French soldiers engaged in France and around the world.
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“
I would like to reiterate to you my deep gratitude for the spirit which animates you in the missions which you accomplish. (...) Be proud, proud of what you do as I am proud of you. Your families can also be proud of you, as France is, and rightly so
, ”declares the Head of State in this sequence broadcast on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and via the military intranet. Emmanuel Macron had canceled, due to the resumption of the Covid-19 epidemic, the trip to the troops he had made in the previous years of his mandate at Christmas time. He had planned to visit Gao, Mali this year.
"
I would like to speak directly to you on Christmas Eve, to tell you that my thoughts are with you as, often far from your families and friends, you continue to ensure in France, as everywhere in the world, the defense of our country, of its interests, of its values
”, declares the president, who begins his message with a thought addressed to the French soldiers killed in 2021 and to their families.
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Three French soldiers have been killed in action in the Sahel this year, bringing to 52 the number of them killed in this region since 2013. A fourth soldier died accidentally in October at the base in Timbuktu.
“
I think of their families,
” says Emmanuel Macron, “
because tonight the absence is even heavier, more painful.
I would like to pay them solemn tribute once again.
This homage is that of the whole Nation, that of a great country, determined, which engages militarily when necessary, without ever underestimating the cost of this commitment
”.
