Thursday 29 April 2021

Do you want a coup?
French army whistle

It is indeed inconceivable that a military coup could occur in France. By the time many generals wrote an open letter giving vent to such apprehensions. But it has consequences.

The leadership of the French military has announced stricter sanctions against ex-generals and other military personnel who warned of “civil war” and openly threatened rioting. In an interview with the newspaper “Le Parisien”, the chief of staff, François Lecointre, condemned the “coup fantasies” of the signatories of a fiery letter that had caused resentment to the government’s ranks. As a result, Léquiter announced compulsory retirement and other disciplinary measures.

“The higher the Chief, the more severe the restrictions.” Among other things, he would propose to President Emmanuel Macron the compulsory retirement of generals and the removal of those affected from the reserve list of the armed forces. Lecointre insisted that the appeal “does not in any way reflect the state of mind of today’s military” and has 210,000 active members. Armed forces are behind the republic, right wing extremists are not tolerated there.

Le Pen immediately asked for help

In an appeal to the right-wing magazine “Velier’s Actuelles”, members of the military warned of a “civil war” with thousands against Islamists and leftist forces. He criticized the government for its “wavering” attitude and declared that they were “ready to support politicians who guarantee the security of the nation”. The right-wing populist Marine Le Pen called the military against Macron for nearly a year to support him in the presidential election.

Particularly leftist camp politicians accused members of the military of treason and Defense Minister Florence Parry called for sanctions against the signatories. The appeal was published on April 21, 1961, in Algiers, on the 60th anniversary of the generals’ coup. It was supposed to force President Charles de Gaulle to stop the independence of Algeria.