THOMAS SAMSON / AFP
Sébastien Lecornu photographed in the main courtyard of the Invalides on February 27 (Photo by Thomas SAMSON / POOL / AFP)
POLITICS – The Minister of the Armed Forces goes to the front. In an interview given to Parisian this Sunday, April 21, Sébastien Lecornu returns to the eruptive context in the Middle East, marked in particular by the attack led by Iran on Israel, and the debates that this situation has provoked in France. The opportunity for the person concerned to respond to several controversies which have emerged in recent days, regarding the level of involvement of Paris on site.
First point: the context in which French forces intervened to intercept several drones and missiles destined for the Hebrew State. Monday April 15, LFI deputies Aurélien Saintoul and Bastien Lachaud asked in a letter on the legality of the French operation, both domestically and internationally.
“ We have several bases in the Levant. Some are linked to the coalition fighting Daesh in Syria and Iraq, this is Operation Chammal. Where we occupy a military hold, we do so under an agreement with the host nation, which obviously includes the proportionate use of force for our protection », replies the minister in The Parisianwho adds: “ we have carried out the necessary actions to protect our military assets against these threats, with the agreement of the host authoritiess”.
Criticisms linked to Israel’s security?
Beyond this clarification, already done by mail, the Minister of the Armed Forces questions the intentions of rebellious France on this subject. “ I cannot help but think that certain Insoumis deputies are exploiting this because it affects the security of Israel… This permanent ambiguity of LFI is irresponsible: insubordination can still be compatible with patriotism and responsibility”he laments.
Second subject on which Sébastien Lecornu targets the Mélenchonist troops, arms sales to Israel.
If the Minister of the Armed Forces has already refuted any delivery of equipment used in Gaza, he repeats that France does not sell “ no weapon » in Tel Aviv. “ We mainly have transfers of spare parts, for an amount of 15 million euros in 2022 – or 0.2% of our exports! —, including for example components of the Iron Dome, therefore for the defense of civilian populations”, assures Sébastien Lecornu, castigating “ the indecent exploitation of the far left who knowingly maintained doubt about the French position and who even wanted us to cancel the licenses for the Iron Dome “.
“Primary anti-Americanism”
On this same subject, the Minister of the Armed Forces detects in the LFI position a desire to call into question the security of the Hebrew State. “ When we see the effectiveness (of the Iron Dome) last Saturday… I refer them to their responsibilities – or their irresponsibility”, he denounces. Another controversial subject, in which La France insoumise took part (like the National Rally), the passage under NATO operational control of the aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle, for the first time in its history. According to LFI, this operation calls into question the sovereignty of the French nuclear deterrent (a reading refuted by specialists on the subject).
On this issue, Sébastien Lecornu denies any abandonment of sovereignty, also stressing that the military means, whatever they may be, made available by France within the framework of the Atlantic alliance ” are at no time outside French political and military control “. For the Minister of the Armed Forces, “ behind NATO, there is the temptation to flatter a feeling of primary anti-Americanism “. A constant that we actually find in numerous international positions expressed by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and France Insoumise. Just like at the RN.
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