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The Chief of the French Armed Forces has asked the country's mayors to prepare their citizens for great sacrifices, both in terms of life and financial.
The appeal by the new head of the country's Armed Forces to mayors to prepare their citizens for the possibility of a war with Russia is causing unrest in France, with political forces immediately condemning his statements.
Speaking on Tuesday at the annual conference of French mayors in Paris, General Fabian Madon called on local officials to prepare citizens that they may have to "accept pain to defend who we are."
"We have all the knowledge, all the economic and demographic power to prevent the Moscow regime from trying its luck further," Madon said, but warned that it lacks the "spirit" to achieve this.
Specifically, he warned that if France "is not prepared to accept that it will lose its children, to suffer economic damage because priority will be given to defense production, then we are in danger."
Madon, who replaced General Thierry Bourcard earlier this year, had warned in his first hearing in parliament last month that the French armed forces must be ready "within three or four years" for a "shock" with regard to Russia.
Parties on both sides of the political spectrum - which together represent a significant portion of voters - reacted strongly, highlighting the lack of consensus in France on the need to prepare for war, but also the differing assessments of how great a threat Russia poses to France. Many NATO countries consider it likely that Moscow will attack the Alliance in some way by 2030.
The leader of the radical left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who has run for president three times, expressed his "absolute disagreement" with Madonna in X and said it was not his job "to foresee the sacrifices that will come from our diplomatic failures."
Louis Alliot, vice-chairman of Marine Le Pen’s party, the National Rally, said: “No one should be prepared to die for their country… But the war that is being waged must be just, or understandable, or necessity dictates that the survival of the nation is at stake… I don’t think there are many French people willing to go and die for Ukraine.”
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