A week after the publication on April 21 of the controversial military column on the site of Current values, calling for “Intervention” of the army for the “Protection [des] civilizational values ”, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, François Lecointre, officially demanded, on April 27 and 28, sanctions against these signatories, for non-compliance with the duty to Reserve. A process that may take many months, however, and last until the presidential campaign.
One of the reasons is the number of soldiers who may be subject to sanctions. Originally signed by “About twenty generals, a hundred high-ranking officers and more than a thousand other soldiers”, according to the weekly, the main initiator of this forum, retired gendarmerie captain Jean-Pierre Fabre-Bernadac, 70, former member of the Front National security service in the 1990s, claimed, Thursday April 29, some 10,000 signatories. Only 1,500 names have been made public so far. But the management of these cases risks nevertheless occupying the disciplinary bodies of the armed forces for a moment.
Eighteen soldiers still active
In this long list, servicemen still in service are a category in themselves. They are only eighteen, including four officers. Their identity has not been disclosed. The sanctions to which they are exposed range from a simple warning, to reprimand, through the reprimand, up to days of rest, temporary exclusion, see the lowering of echelon. These sanctions will be entered in their file and may hinder their career development. In absolute terms, a radiation can also be considered, which would be equivalent for these men to a dismissal. In this case, the decision would go back to the Minister of Defense.
Due to the political sensitivity of this case, these eighteen soldiers could all be summoned and heard within the framework of a written adversarial procedure. They could then be accompanied by “counsel”, whether it is a relative or a lawyer. As always in the armed forces, the higher the rank, the more severe the sanction is likely to be. However, all decisions can be appealed, like any administrative decision.
For the twenty-four generals who signed the platform, the range of sanctions is much narrower. It’s radiation or nothing. All are indeed generals “2S” (for ” second section ”). Relatively old, they are no longer active, but they are still members of the military, receive a salary, are potentially “recallable” for certain missions up to 67 years, and can wear the uniform. To strike them off will therefore require a presidential decree.
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