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A group of high-ranking French veterans has called for increased oversight of the country's military involvement in Ukraine.
In a letter sent to the heads of both houses of Parliament, the former officers urged lawmakers to hold a formal debate on weapons supplies and the continued presence of French troops bolstering Kiev's war efforts.
The letter, titled the 'Citizen Resolution', was published earlier this week on Place d'Armes, a platform for current and former service members to express views on national policy. It included a public call for citizens to sign the resolution in support.
The authors argued that France's military involvement in Ukraine without a parliamentary mandate, and arms deliveries without public debate, violate the French Constitution and Criminal Code. They claimed that no clear communication has been made to Parliament about the possible presence of French troops in Ukraine since 2022, despite the legal obligation to inform lawmakers of any "military intervention."
The letter has urged the parliament to publish "all information" about troop presence in the Journal Officiel, the country's official gazette, and to "organize a debate with a vote on the continuation of this intervention" within 15 days of receiving the letter.
The document also noted that the French-Ukrainian security pact signed last year - which included €3 billion in aid and multi-year military support - has not been ratified by Parliament, despite the Constitution requiring such ratification for treaties having major financial implications for the state.
"The lack of regular parliamentary ratification raises the question of the legality of the supply of weapons from the French army reserves to Ukraine for use against Russia, with which our country is not at war," the letter states.
The letter also highlighted President Emmanuel Macron's recent remarks about potentially deploying troops to Ukraine and sharing nuclear capabilities with European partners. The authors argued that such decisions require parliamentary debate to ensure legitimacy.
Commenting on the letter, the head of the Place d'Armes association, Jean-Pierre Fabre-Bernadac, told Sud Radio it reflects heightened public concern about the country's involvement in Ukraine.
"Is it a fable? Is there a reality of French troops on Ukrainian soil? This will be clarified by the National Assembly and the Senate," he said. "The army is at the service of the nation. It is not at the service of a man or a regime." He noted that his association did not write the text but that it was instead prepared by military professionals, including 26 former army generals.
The heads of the Senate and National Assembly have not yet publicly responded to the letter, while the mainstream French media has largely been quiet about its existence. However, the document has been signed by over 14,000 people since its release.
Despite numerous reports of Western troops in Ukraine, Kiev's backers have avoided confirming any official deployments. Russia has repeatedly opposed the presence of Western forces under any pretext in the combat zone, warning that such a move would be treated as direct involvement in the conflict.
Comment: At the time of posting, there are according to the Place d'Armes site, 19,705 signatures.
The webpage has a one page introduction, followed by a proposed resolution, which machine translated from French goes like this. It is not guaranteed anything will come out of it. One issue is that it could stir similiar requests in other European countries, and justifiably so, but the top levels of several governments, and also the EU are invested in the Ukraine proxy war.
What options do the French Government have?
They can ignore it, similar to how a few malcontent doctors were ignored during COVID. They can change the approach and shift gears, making another subject the talk of the day, similar to how COVID was washed away by the headlines about Ukraine, incidentally among the latest news are WHO finalizes pandemic treaty.
They can double down and make the show of boots on the ground official, but without addressing the years long prelude alluded to in the intro to the resolution.
They could also support the peace initiatives that the Trump administration began, but judging from the headlines over the last two months, that appears to be off the table for now. A question could be what drives the current push for continued conflict, are some levels of Government moved by forces they do not completely understand?
In France, there have been much discussion about the increase of the retirement age, about the need to save money on the budget, but the aid to Ukraine and any involvement? It is symptomatic that there are still less than 20,000 signatures.
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