Officers, non-commissioned officers, naval officers, soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilian personnel of the French armed forces, the illegal, direct and massive attack unleashed against Ukraine on Thursday 24 February is the most serious and uninhibited demonstration of power by the Russian regime since the end of the USSR. However, this is not the first time this has happened, and France's armies have had to deal with it regularly, particularly in recent years. Under the sea, at sea, in the air, in space, and on land, in the Atlantic, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Africa, in both tangible and intangible fields, French forces have come into conflict with Russian forces, both regular and irregular.
Neither attacked nor even threatened, the Russian regime has accepted the use of force as a means of expression in international relations: it has once again chosen military aggression against Ukraine and, through Ukraine, against the principles of freedom, sovereignty, the rule of law, respect for one's word and democracy that Europe and its allies share. Recently, the Russian Head of State chose to give the crisis an unjustified dimension.
Against this backdrop of high tension, France knows that it can once again count on its armed forces. Today, as in the past, your virtues of intellectual discipline and moral strength underpin a posture of mastery that is a credit to our country. I know that I can count on you to be extremely vigilant in carrying out your missions, and to exercise the necessary restraint in the face of possible interference.
Armed forces of the Republic, you bear a heritage forged over time, through reflection and action. Our fellow citizens know, with quiet certainty, that your professionalism is fortified by these principles that enable you to see high and far.
I would like to express my personal confidence in you, as well as that of all the French people, and my gratitude for your commitment, which I know I also owe to your families. I know the quality of your leaders. I have confidence in your individual and collective training, your cohesion and your recognised operational effectiveness. Together, we will face up to this crisis, maintain our permanent postures that guarantee the safety of the French people and continue our operational commitments, in the spirit and for the reasons that I wanted to share with you.
Long live the Republic.
Vive la France.
