France
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France's top general under fire after saying country must be 'prepared to lose children'
Chief of the Defence Staff General Fabien Mandon has been roundly condemned in France for telling local mayors that the country needed to be prepared to accept the death of its children if it was going to deter further Russian aggression following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
France's Chief of the Defence Staff Fabien Mandon attends commemorations marking the 107th anniversary of the November 11, 1918 Armistice that ended World War I, at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, Tuesday, November 11, 2025. © Benoit Tessier, AP
France's top general on Thursday faced a backlash across the political spectrum after warning that the country must be ready to "lose its children" against the background of the threat posed by Russia.
Chief of the Defence Staff General Fabien Mandon said in a speech to local mayors on Tuesday that, while France has the economic and demographic power to defeat Moscow, it lacked the "spirit" in society to stand up to the menace.
Russia and Ukraine have been at war since Moscow in February 2022 launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbour. European powers, including France, have backed Ukraine with increasing supplies of weapons but have always insisted they are not directly involved in the conflict.
"We have all the knowledge, all the economic and demographic strength to deter the Moscow regime from trying its luck by going further," said Mandon.
"What we lack, and this is where you have a major role to play, is the strength of spirit to accept suffering in order to protect who we are," he told the mayors.
"If our country falters because it is not prepared to accept – let's be honest – to lose its children, to suffer economically because defence production will take precedence, then we are at risk," he added.
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THE DEBATE © FRANCE 24
French officials including President Emmanuel Macron have repeatedly argued that Russia risks seeking to push further if the invasion of Ukraine succeeds.
Authorities have tried to prepare the minds of the French for a war or crisis that would force them to make sacrifices, but the message is struggling to make inroads among a polarised population that feels far from the frontline and protected by a nuclear deterrent.
The left-wing France Unbowed's Jean-Luc Mélenchon said that he was in "complete disagreement" with Mandon.
"It is not his place to invite mayors or anyone else to participate in war preparations decided by no one: not the President, not the government, not Parliament," he wrote on X. "Nor is it his place to anticipate sacrifices that would result from our diplomatic failures, on which his public opinion has not been sought! Where is President Macron? Why is he allowing this?"
Louis Aliot, deputy leader of the far-right National Rally, said: "One must be prepared to die for one's country ... but the war being waged must be just, or understood, or the necessity must dictate that the very survival of the nation is at stake ... I don't think there are many French people who are ready to go and die for Ukraine."
"It's a NO! 51,000 war memorials in our towns and villages are not enough?," said French Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel, referring to the number of memorials nationwide to those who fell in war.
"Yes to national defence, but no to unbearable warmongering rhetoric!", he wrote on X.
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EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas addresses soldiers during a visit to the EUFOR Base (European Union Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina) in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 3, 2025. REUTERS/Amel Emric REUTERS - Amel Emric
"It's shocking," said Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice and a member of the centre-right Horizons party which is part of Macron's ruling coalition.
"Is it the role of the chief of staff of the army to worry the country in this way? It's an act of weakness," he told CNews.
The European Commission estimates that EU defence spending this year will total around €392 billion, almost double the amount of four years ago, before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It believes that some €3.4 trillion will probably be spent on defence over the next decade. To help, it intends to propose boosting the EU’s long-term budget for defence and space to €131 billion.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
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