While the French army began its withdrawal from Niger on Tuesday, October 10, its third departure in less than two years from an African country, and the sources of tension are multiplying in Europe, from the Balkans to the East, in the wake of the war in Ukraine, the general staff of the armed forces decided to ward off this new withdrawal with the creation of a new general staff, ostensibly marked “Europe”.
This is an unprecedented repositioning, after thirty years of expeditions focused on the fight against terrorism in the Sahel and the Middle East. It has been officially operational since Monday October 16 and announced by the Chief of Staff of the Army, at the military school, Thursday October 19, during a speech on the transformation of the Army .
It is within the Kléber barracks, in Lille, a vast complex of red brick buildings where the command of the French land forces (CFT) was already installed – around 400 people responsible for coordinating the training of the whole regiments of the Army −, that this new headquarters dedicated to the training of forces and the command of all operations in Europe was installed. Since spring 2022, the barracks have also housed a few dozen personnel dedicated to logistical support for French missions in Estonia or Romania. Today’s merger is intended to be a new step.
Called “land command for air-land operations in Europe (CTE)”, this new structure integrated into the CFT was entrusted to Lieutenant General Bertrand Toujouse, commander of special operations (COS) until September 2021. The general today three main operations under his command: “Lynx” in Estonia (with around 300 French soldiers deployed), “Aigle” in Romania (between 800 and 1,000 soldiers) and the training of Ukrainian soldiers in Poland, under the aegis of the European Union, partly provided by special forces.
“Respond to all types of scenarios”
With this decision, the Army is committing to a less centralized, more regional organizational model, as it works today within the Navy, with dedicated commands for the entire Mediterranean area (called “Cecmed” ) or the Atlantic coast (“Ceclant”), from the Baltic Sea to the Gulf of Guinea. In addition to the management of the three missions in Estonia, Romania and Poland, the CTE will have to, like the navy with its home ports, manage the rise in power of “logistics centers” in different European countries, in order to to ensure a possible deployment of troops.
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