What a year this has been for the 34 listeners of the 6e National session on "Maritime issues and strategies" since their first stopover in Paris in September 2020. The COVID storm will have forced them to tack, sometimes to put on the cape, and then immediately reef the sails to take off again and finally arrive safely in port.
Their long sail took them along the French coast to Boulogne, Brest, Calais, Dunkirk, Lorient, Marseille, Nantes, Saint-Nazaire and Djibouti. And it was a little groggy from "land sickness" and with the strictest application of the COVID barrier measures that they met again on 17 and 18 June 2021 at the École Militaire for their end of session colloquium and the IHEDN strategic forum.
The traditional "Auditors' Colloquium", the culmination of their training, which took place on 17 June, is the long-awaited moment when the auditors present the highest French maritime authorities with the results of their reflections on the subjects that have animated them throughout the year. The symposium, chaired by Préfet Denis Robin, Secretary General for the Sea, was also attended by Admiral Pierre Vandier, Chief of Staff of the Navy, Major General Xavier Ducept, Director of the Cabinet of the Minister for the Sea, and Frédéric Moncany de Saint-Aignan, Chairman of the French Maritime Cluster.
This year, the theme of sovereignty was put forward by the Prime Minister for consideration by all those attending the national sessions, so those taking part in the 'Maritime Challenges and Strategies' session focused on issues relating to cognitive capabilities, economic control and France's ability to intervene on the international stage, particularly in the diplomatic and naval spheres. The ultimate aim is to preserve the oceans as a common asset and to maintain France's freedom of action. The presentations and debates between the participants and their guests were particularly rich and interesting, reflecting the commitment of the participants and the cohesion they have built up over the year. The participants from previous sessions were not the last to push their successors to the limit.
After speeches by Lieutenant General Patrick Destremau and the above-mentioned authorities, Denis Robin brought the seminar to a close by congratulating the participants on their work and offering his thoughts on France's current and future maritime challenges, particularly in the context of France's assumption of the presidency of the European Union in 2022. So many avenues open up for future sessions! Future auditors have their work cut out for them. Then came the presentation to the auditors of their hard-won and richly deserved diplomas.
The IHEDN auditor's diploma is much more than an achievement, it is a real mission statement for the future. This is why Rear-Admiral Marc-Antoine de Saint-Germain, Commander of the Navy in Paris and Director of the Navy's Centre for Strategic Studies, came to present the Navy's reserves. Jérôme de Labriffe, President of the auditors' association, and Hélène Mazeran described the many opportunities for action within the association. These are just some of the ways in which students can make the most of the training they have received at IHEDN.
The following day, the Institute's strategic forum was an opportunity for listeners to meet some very senior government officials: Jean Castex, Prime Minister bearing the prestigious name of Admiral Raoul Castex, founder of the Institute in 1936, Florence Parly, Minister for the Armed Forces, Françoise Dumas and Christian Chambon, the two chairmen of the Defence and Armed Forces Committees of the National Assembly and the Senate, Sandrine Gaudin, Secretary General for European Affairs, and Lieutenant General Luc de Rancourt, Deputy Director General for International Relations and Strategy at the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
Listeners were also able to debate with eminent specialists in strategic thinking on defence and security: Pierre Vimont, Ambassador of France, Thomas Gomart, Director of IFRI, Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, Director of the Paris Office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Florence Gaub, Deputy Director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies, Sylvie Bermann, Ambassador of France and Chair of the Board of Directors of IHEDN, and Nathalie Delapalme, Executive Director of the MO Ibrahim Foundation.
So it was with the satisfaction of a job well done, an even stronger sense of cohesion and a great deal of nostalgia that the auditors said their goodbyes late into the night after the traditional Gallic buffet. But this was only a farewell, because the indestructible links created during the session will generate regular meetings for many years to come, for the benefit of their country, of course, as part of their 'mission statement', but also for the simple pleasure of meeting up again and reminiscing about the special moments they spent at IHEDN.
