On Friday 14 June, the Foch amphitheatre at the École Militaire welcomed the auditors of the 3rd national session to mark the end of an emotional year. The auditors of the 2023-2024 national session celebrated the end of their year of training with a presentation of their work, a graduation ceremony, master classes and, to conclude, a gala evening.
This year, the 282 auditors, who came from a variety of professional and geographical backgrounds, were joined by six auditors from overseas France, thanks to an agreement signed with the Ministry of Overseas France, marking a first for the IHEDN national session.
Spread over forty to fifty days throughout the year, depending on their major - Armaments and Defence Economics (AED), Economic Defence and Security (DSE), Defence Policy (PolDef), Maritime Challenges and Strategies (ESM) or Digital Sovereignty and Cybersecurity (SNC) - the auditors met with high-level players from the defence sector and visited strategic sites in mainland France, French Guiana and abroad, notably in India, the United Arab Emirates, Romania, Estonia and Finland.
The major events of this year, such as the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which is entering its third year, the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and the situation in New Caledonia, have reinforced the need for this in-depth reflection. Combining theory and practice, the work of the auditors will be forwarded to the Prime Minister's office, the supervisory authority of the IHEDN, thus contributing to the development of national defence policies.
