Eighteen French soldiers, including a few officers, who signed an open letter warning about the risk of "civil war" in France will face sanctions before a military council, the armed forces chief of staff said Wednesday.

"Each one (will go) before a senior military council, " General Francois Lecointre told Le Parisian newspaper, and could be "delisted" or "put into immediate retirement".

The open letter, published by right-wing magazine Valeurs Actuelles last week, predicted that failure to act against "suburban hordes" -- or residents of mainly immigrant suburban areas -- and other groups who "scorn our country" will lead to "civil war" and deaths "in the thousands".

Prime Minister Jean Castex labelled the rare intervention in politics by military figures "an initiative against all of our republican principles, of honour and the duty of the army".

The 18, including four officers, were among hundreds of signatories to the open letter.

"I believe that the higher the responsibilities, the stronger the obligation of neutrality and exemplarity," said Lecointre.

The main instigators of the letter are alleged to have ties to far-right, anti-immigration movements in France.

The first signatory, Jean-Pierre Fabre-Bernadac, ran security in the 1990s for the National Front leader, the Canard Enchaine newspaper reported.

Others include retired general Antoine Martinez, who founded "Volontaires pour la France", a right-wing group committed to defending "traditional French values".

However, Lecointre denied that there was any far-right radicalisation in the army.

The letter went on to say, "laxist" government policies would result in chaos requiring "the intervention of our comrades on active duty in a perilous mission of protection of our civilisational values".

Related Links
Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

French generals cause backlash with 'civil war' warning
Paris (AFP) April 27, 2021
The French government has threatened to punish active soldiers who signed an open letter by 25 retired generals warning President Emmanuel Macron the country is headed for "civil war". A number of serving defence force members are believed to have signed the letter published last week in the right-wing Valeurs Actuelles magazine, which warned that "laxist" policies would result in chaos requiring "the intervention of our comrades on active duty in a perilous mission of protection of our civilization ... read more