It's the habit of the English to mock the French, but I don't mock this, an open letter signed by senior officers of the the French Army, Air Force and Navy. The French Army Chief of Staff has threatenned the officers with court martial. Here's the letter, via TGP:
Dear Mr. President,
Dear Members of Parliament and Government,
The situation is serious. France is in danger. She faces many mortal perils.
We who, even in retirement, remain soldiers of France, cannot, in the current circumstances, remain indifferent to the fate of our beautiful country.
Our red, white and blue flag is not just a piece of cloth. It symbolizes the tradition, handed down through the ages, of those who, whatever their skin color or faith, have served France and given their lives for it.
On this flag we find in gold letters the words, “Honor and Country”. Today, our honor today lies in calling out the destruction of our country.
This destruction, under the guise of so-called anti-racism, follows a single aim: To foster unrest in our land, even hatred between communities.
There is much talk today of “racism”, “white supremacy” and “decolonization”. But what these hateful and fanatic activists actually want is race war.
They despise our country, its traditions and its culture. They want to see it destroyed by robbing it of its past and its history.
When they attack our statues, they are actually attacking our glorious military and civilian past, a heritage passed down in words that are centuries old.
This destructive attack, together with Islamism and the criminal hordes in the ghettos, is dividing our nation with dogmas that are contrary to our constitution.
Every Frenchman, whatever his faith or lack thereof, is at home everywhere in France. There cannot and must not exist any city or district where the laws of the Republic do not apply.
This destructive attack causes hatred to outweigh our bonds of brotherhood.
The government pits the police, as their proxies and scapegoats, against our citizens expressing their despair in Yellow Vests.
Meanwhile, masked and hooded radicals ransack businesses and threaten these same police officers, who are only trying to obey the sometimes contradictory orders given by you, the government.
The danger is mounting. The violence is increasing day by day. Who would have predicted ten years ago that a teacher would one day be beheaded on the street in broad daylight in France, on his way home from school?
We, as servants of our Nation, who have always been ready to stick our necks out for our country, as is a soldier’s duty, cannot remain passive in the face of such danger any longer.
It is imperative that those who run our country find the courage to eradicate these dangers.
To achieve this, it is often enough to merely start enforcing existing laws without weakness.
Remember that, like us, a large majority of our fellow citizens are baffled by your hand-wringing and shameful silence.
As Cardinal Mercier, Primate of Belgium, said: “When prudence is everywhere, courage is nowhere.”
So, ladies and gentlemen, you have dawdled enough. The hour is grave, the task is huge.
Do not waste any more time and know that we are ready to support those policies which will safeguard the nation.
If nothing is done, lawlessness will inexorably continue to spread in our society, ultimately leading to an explosion and the intervention of our active military in the dangerous task of protecting our civilizational values, and safeguarding our fellow citizens in our country.
There is no more time to waste. Otherwise, tomorrow civil war will put an end to this growing chaos.
The deaths, which will number in the thousands, will be on your hands.
Signed,
Lieutenant-general Christian PIQUEMAL (Foreign Legion), Major-General Gilles BARRIE (Infantry), Maj.-Gen. François GAUBERT (former Military Governor of Lille), Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel de RICHOUFFTZ (Infantry), Maj.-Gen. Michel JOSLIN DE NORAY (Marines), Brigadier General André COUSTOU (Infantry), Brigadier General Philippe DESROUSSEAUX de MEDRANO (Train), Brig.-Gen. Antoine MARTINEZ (Air Force), Brig.-Gen. Daniel GROSMAIRE (Air Force), Brig.-Gen. Robert JEANNEROD (Cavalry), Brig.-Gen. Pierre Dominique AIGUEPERSE (Infantry), Brig.-Gen. Roland DUBOIS (Transmissions), Brig.-Gen. Dominique DELAWARDE (Infantry), Brig.-Gen. Jean Claude GROLIER (Artillery), Brig.-Gen. Norbert de CACQUERAY (Armaments), Brig.-Gen. Roger PRIGEN T (ALAT), Brig.-Gen. Alfred LEBRETON (CAT), Surgeon General Guy DURAND (Health Service), Rear Admiral Gérard BALASTRE (Navy).
Presidential candidate Marine Le Pen replied to the letter thus:
Gentlemen, Generals, Officers, Representatives of all armies and all branches, you have signed an open letter calling “for our leaders to return to honor.”
Your initiative, rare in the military, testifies to the level of concern you have in the face of the worrisome deterioration of the situation in our country. Your outspoken but fair observation, made in very strong terms, constitutes a public challenge that no one can ignore, given your reputation.
With the courage of those who have dedicated their lives to their country, you criticize our leaders very directly, questioning their responsibility quite legitimately, urging them to regain the ability to act and restore “our honor”.
As a citizen and as a politician, I agree with your analysis and share your concerns. Like you, I believe it is the duty of all French patriots, wherever they’re from, to stand up for the restoration and even the salvation of our country.
However, I believe that an open letter will not be enough to persuade our failing leadership to change its shameful ways.
The recent pronouncements by the President of France on his project to “deconstruct the history of France” indeed show us these harmful tendencies are not the result of a moment of confusion, but from a political agenda powered by fundamentally destructive ideology.
The concerns you so bravely express cannot remain a mere expression off outrage, however. In a democracy, we must look for a political solution which must materialize through a process of dialogue which must be validated by French voters.
This is the motivation for my political agenda, and of my candidacy for the French Presidency, with the objective of forming a government that will unify the nation.
Many senior officials and leading figures of society have rallied to our cause. I invite you to join us in the struggle which is beginning, a peaceful and political struggle, which is above all the struggle for France.
Marine Le Pen
This has nothing whatsoever, in any shape, form or substance to do with anything at all that's occurring in the United States. At all. Or the UK. Nothing. At. All. (Must you be so sarcastic? Ed.)
Cheers,
LSP
