Our news
Opening of the 6th IHEDN National Session
The 291 cadets of the 6th national intake met for the first time at the École Militaire on 15 and 16 September. On the agenda: an introduction to the teams, an overview of the teaching programme and talks by several senior officials, before they set off on their first immersion experience within the armed forces.
IHEDN – National School for Court Clerks: a new partnership to support training
The Institute for Higher National Defence Studies (IHEDN) and the National School of Court Clerks (ENG) have signed a charter governing the use of the Andragoquest game, to enable IHEDN trainers to make the most of this tool and adapt it to their internal training needs, thereby strengthening pedagogical innovation within the Institute.
1826–2026: When photography tells the story of war
To mark the 43rd European Heritage Days, which this year are themed «Photographic Heritage» to celebrate the bicentenary of photography, the IHEDN invites you to explore the close link between photojournalism, memory and defence.
Sandra Chenu Godefroy: «Documentary photography retains a special value»
To mark European Heritage Days, which this year celebrate the bicentenary of photography, we meet freelance photographer Sandra Chenu Godefroy. Through her perspective, this interview explores the role of photography in the armed forces: telling human stories, bearing witness to reality and preserving memories, at a time when images have never been so numerous or so easy to produce.
Pierre Lévy: «Russia continues to draw strength from our weaknesses, divisions and missteps»
Ambassador Pierre Lévy, who has been Chair of the IHEDN Board of Directors since January 2026, looks back in this interview on his most recent post in Moscow during a pivotal period, from 2020 to 2024, and on our Institute’s priorities in the current context.
Episode 4: Before the «Global South»
In this final instalment of our summer series, three leading intellectuals of the 20the These 20th-century figures analyse various aspects of what was then known as the «Third World»: the coiner of the term, the demographer Alfred Sauvy; the Senegalese statesman Léopold Sédar Senghor; and the historian Fernand Braudel.
Opening of the 6th IHEDN National Session
The 291 cadets of the 6th national intake met for the first time at the École Militaire on 15 and 16 September. On the agenda: an introduction to the teams, an overview of the teaching programme and talks by several senior officials, before they set off on their first immersion experience within the armed forces.
IHEDN – National School for Court Clerks: a new partnership to support training
The Institute for Higher National Defence Studies (IHEDN) and the National School of Court Clerks (ENG) have signed a charter governing the use of the Andragoquest game, to enable IHEDN trainers to make the most of this tool and adapt it to their internal training needs, thereby strengthening pedagogical innovation within the Institute.
A look back at the 163e Youth programme in Île-de-France, in partnership with IHEMI
For the second time, from 6 to 10 July, the IHEDN and the IHEMI joined forces under the auspices of the ACADEM to offer a ‘Youth’ programme common to both institutes. Following the success of its first edition in 2025, this latest session once again demonstrated the synergy between state actors across the security-defence continuum.
SIALC 2026: IHEDN strengthens cooperation between Latin America, the Caribbean and France in the fight against illicit trafficking
From 29 June to 3 July, Martinique hosted the 10th International Session for Latin America and the Caribbean (SIALC), organised by the IHEDN in partnership with the Directorate for Security and Defence Cooperation (DCSD). The focus of this year’s session was on strengthening regional cooperation to combat illicit trafficking and consolidate collective security, following on from the Regional Security Conference held as part of France’s G7 presidency.
The three Baltic states in the world of 2026: a European perspective, new threats and global defence
As the NATO summit gets underway in Ankara, the École Militaire has brought together the ambassadors of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to France to discuss the major security challenges facing Europe’s eastern flank. In the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine and shifts in transatlantic relations, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius are establishing themselves as testing grounds for a model of sovereign resilience and a highly integrated «comprehensive defence».
Opening of the 37e European Session of Senior Armament Officials (SERA)
La 37e The European Session of Senior Armaments Officials (SERA37) kicked off on Monday 2 March, with a first week organised in France and Brussels, launching this session which aims to strengthen joint reflection on the industrial, capability and technological challenges facing European defence.
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