In a video, Macron says his "gratitude" to French soldiers on the occasion of the holidays

Unable to spend Christmas with the soldiers of the Barkhane force, the head of state expressed his "gratitude" to the French soldiers engaged in France and around the world in a video posted Friday evening on social networks.

“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, ”declared the Head of State in this sequence broadcast on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and via the military intranet.

To our soldiers, sailors and airmen, to you, the Christmas night watchmen engaged in operations to protect us, I wish to send you this message.

My thoughts and those of the Nation are with you.

pic.twitter.com/AFyYFC7xHi

- Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 24, 2021

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, ”the president also recalled.

Should we see in this message a link with the recent visit of the far-right presidential candidate Éric Zemmour, to French soldiers based in Côte d'Ivoire?

Read also In the Sahel, hostility against Barkhane's soldiers escalates

Emmanuel Macron took advantage of his message to send a thought to the French soldiers killed in 2021 and to their families.

“I think of their families because the absence tonight 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 ”.

Three French soldiers have been killed in action in the Sahel this year, bringing the number of them killed in this region since 2013 to 52. A fourth soldier died accidentally in October at the Timbuktu base.