French Army Chief Emphasizes Readiness Amid Rising European Security Concerns

The chief of staff of the French Army said his forces must maintain constant readiness for high-intensity warfare, underlining the growing security concerns in Europe as the war in Ukraine continues and tensions with Russia escalate.

General Pierre Schill told reporters last week that French forces must be “ready as early as tonight.” But it is not as ominous as it sounds. He has used this phrase, in French, to highlight the need for operational preparedness and not to signal an imminent threat.

“We are determined to be credible, we want to show that we are ready,” Schill said during a September 25 briefing at the French Army’s technical section in Versailles, where he outlined priorities including drone warfare, long-range strike capabilities, and rapid deployment.

France is preparing to deploy 5,000 troops to Romania for the Dacian Fall exercise from October 20 to November 13 — a demonstration of the military’s ability to rapidly project force to NATO’s eastern flank. The exercise will include tanks and artillery systems.

France currently maintains approximately 20,000 troops in operational deployments, with soldiers stationed in Lebanon, Iraq, Estonia, and Romania. French forces are also training Ukrainian troops in France and Poland.

Schill also highlighted the need to adapt to evolving warfare tactics observed in Ukraine, including the expanded use of drones. The French Army currently possesses over 1,000 combat drones and aims to acquire 10,000 in the coming years.

The emphasis on readiness follows recent drone incursions into NATO airspace in Poland and Romania, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to rule out potential Western troop deployments to Ukraine, though he has stressed France is “not waging war on Russia.”

Russia has repeatedly warned against NATO escalation in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the conflict as a Western proxy war and cautioned that direct NATO-Russia confrontation would approach “full-scale World War III.”

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