France’s turn to private armies risks tearing Western alliance apart |
In recent months, amid growing fractures within the European Union and against the backdrop of the Ukraine-Russia war, a range of new interpretations has emerged regarding NATO and the Western camp. France’s increasing drive towards militarisation and the legalisation of private military structures now openly signals Paris’s intention to challenge cohesion within the Western alliance, including NATO, an organisation that is over seventy years old. In reality, France’s tensions with the Western bloc are not new. As early as September 15, 2021, when France was excluded from the AUKUS security pact and responded with decisions that contradicted allied unity, deeper and more risky strategic ambitions became visible. Today, new information sheds further light on the dangers inherent in France’s evolving security policy.
At the centre of this shift lies France’s move to formalise the role of so-called trusted operators within its defence framework. Legislative amendments adopted recently allow the French Ministry of the Armed Forces to engage selected private organisations and companies for international military cooperation, training, support missions and foreign operations. Although Paris avoids the explicit term private military companies, the substance of the policy suggests precisely that. The rebranding appears designed to reduce political backlash while expanding France’s operational flexibility abroad.
Under the new framework, contracts with these trusted operators may last up to ten years. These entities would be authorised to take part in military operations in support of third countries facing a crisis or armed conflict. Their remit would include training, operational assistance, technical support and logistics. Their activities would extend........