Army Chief Says France Must ‘Accept Losing Our Children,’ Igniting Uproar

France, whose relations with Russia are at a low point, has embarked on a concerted effort to convince its citizens that they must be ready for war. But a warning from the new French Army chief that the country must accept the possible loss of its children has touched a raw nerve.

The army chief, Gen. Fabien Mandon, who took over as chief of staff in September, told mayors gathered in Paris from across France last week that they must become the messengers of a new French resolve on an unstable European continent.

What is needed, he said, is “the spirit that accepts that we will have to suffer to protect what we are.” If France “wavers because we are not ready to accept losing our children,” then “we are, indeed, at risk,” he told the mayors, evoking the growing threat from Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

His words were too blunt for some.

“Are 51,000 monuments to our war dead in our communities not enough?” asked Fabien Roussel, the leader of the Communist Party and mayor of Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, who attended the gathering. “Yes to national defense, no to warmongering.”

The furor has erupted as President Emmanuel Macron is widely expected to present a plan for paid, voluntary military service to supplement its standing army, during a visit on Thursday to the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade in Varces, in southeastern France. The program would be aimed at young people who are prepared to serve in the army for a limited period but are not ready for enrollment. The hope is to bolster the armed forces against the threat from Russia.

A statement on Monday from the president’s office said, “On this occasion, the President of the Republic will reaffirm the importance of preparing the nation and its moral strength to face growing threats.”