Appointed at the beginning of the summer by Prime Minister's orderThe 290 listeners of the 4e The new year began last week with the start of a course that will run until June, with an average of around forty days of training depending on the major they have chosen.
The new director of the IHEDN takes to the stage in the grand amphitheatre at the École Militaire, General Hervé de Courrègesopened this new session on 17 September. He invited the audience to "get to know [their] new home better", by recounting its 88-year history and the objectives that have been readjusted over the years. He went on to talk about this year's theme: "France facing the challenges of strategic change".
Deputy Director of the Institute, Prefect Nicolas Basselier, described the "physiognomy" of the auditors at this session, "the largest to date" since such a large number of auditors had never been present: a quarter of them were from the general public, including 11 members of parliament from all walks of life (8 MPs and 3 senators), and 8 auditors from the French overseas territories, thanks to the partnership with the Overseas General Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior.
The head of the national session department, Engineer General Florence Plessix, explained the specific nature of the national session, which has a common foundation and is divided into 5 different majors to better respond to the "interdependence of global challenges". The heads of these five majors then joined her on stage, before the head of the studies and research department, Dr Guillaume Lasconjarias, spoke about teaching methods.
Presenting their teams and outlining their backgrounds, the heads of major projects also briefly described the challenges facing their areas and how they are interconnected:
- Defence Policy (PolDef): Lieutenant General (in 2e section) Pascal Facon ;
- Maritime Issues and Strategies (ESM): Vice-Admiral (2S) Franck Baduel ;
- Defence and Economic Security (DSE): Engineer General of Armaments (2S) Jacques Roujansky ;
- Armement et économie de défense (AED): ingénieur général de l'armement (2S) Étienne Paris ;
- Digital Sovereignty and Cybersecurity (SNC): Vice-Admiral (2S) Henri Schricke.
On 18 September, once again in the Foch amphitheatre, students began their day with a fascinating lecture by Dr Philippe Vial, lecturer in contemporary history at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and academic adviser to the Director of Higher Military Education, academic adviser and professor of history at the Centre des Hautes Études Militaires, entitled "National defence, history and theory". The next presentation, by General Didier Castres (2S), was entitled "La défense nationale dans la pratique" (National defence in practice).
In the afternoon, two speeches were given by senior members of France's defence ecosystem: first by Prefect Stéphane Bouillon, General Secretary for Defence and National Security, and then by the Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, General Thierry Burkhard.
The following day, the auditors experienced their first immersion in different emblematic locations of the armed forces, depending on their major: PolDef at the Centre national d'entraînement commando in Collioure (Pyrénées-Orientales), DSE and SNC at the 13ᵉ bataillon de chasseurs alpins in Tignes (Savoie) then at the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique in Grenoble (Isère), and AED and ESM at the 3e Marine infantry regiment at Fort Penthièvre (Morbihan).
Meet the listeners of the 2024-2025 national session! New challenges, rewarding exchanges and faces that will make all the difference.
