Preparing for WWIII? Thousands of French soldiers to join military exercise in Romania next year for simulated war with Russia
The coming year will be a critical test for the French army as thousands of French soldiers will participate in an extensive military exercise in Romania next May for a simulated war with Russia.
According to a report in Politico, the purpose of the exercise is to evaluate how fast they can reach NATO’s eastern flank if required, which is essential if Russia launches an attack on an allied NATO country.
“Paris is preparing for a world war. The pro-war French president has already come up with alarming plans in recent months, which could clearly lead to a war between NATO and Russia. As reported earlier, Emmanuel Macron did not rule out sending troops to Ukraine either,” informed the Hungarian news outlet Magyar Nemzet.
Even though analysts say an open conflict with Russia would be extremely dangerous for the entire planet, NATO appears to be getting ready for that probability.
“We used to play war. Now, there’s a designated enemy, and we train with people with whom we’d actually go to war,” said General Bertrand Toujouse, who is in charge of the French army’s newly created land command for Europe.
Toujouse added that such military exercises “are a strategic signal.”
French ground troops in the past few years have undertaken a “profound transformation” to prepare for a conflict as fierce as the war in Ukraine.
French army has fresh marching orders from NATO
The French army also has fresh marching orders from NATO. It indicated that by 2027, it should be able to deploy a war-ready division within 30 days along with ammunition and supplies.
Top officers explained that moving toward that goal is central to next year’s Dacian Spring exercise. The French army will train to send a war-ready brigade to Romania in 10 days which is an intermediary action that, if successful, will confirm France’s reliability with NATO allies and set the stage to attain the 2027 objective.
A brigade has between 3,000 and 5,000 soldiers, while a division has from 10,000 to 25,000 combatants. The major challenge is for French troops to reach Romania in such a short time.
“There is still no military Schengen and we need to decisively improve military mobility in Europe,” General Pierre-Eric Guillot, Toujouse’s deputy, said.
The first troop deployment in Romania in 2022 has been hindered by bureaucratic procedures, border control policies and defective trains for transporting military equipment. The affected nations have since worked to remove these problems.
“We may still be hampered by a few customs measures, but we’ve made a lot of progress in diversifying our routes,” Guillot said in an interview with media.
Toujouse stated he is confident French troops will pass next year’s test.
However, French Army Chief General Pierre Schill warned that to meet the 2027 goal, defense spending needs to maintain the non-binding, seven-year military planning law in France. The defense budget is in a tight spot as France’s new government attempts to control the country’s deficit.
“I expect the planned resources to be there in full. If there are major changes, at some point we may delay [the 2027 objective], saying that there aren’t enough stocks to take them into combat. But that’s fiction. That’s only a hypothesis,” Schill said.
yogaesoteric
October 15, 2024