On Friday, the Foch amphitheatre at the École Militaire was alive with emotion and reunion. The solemn yet convivial closing ceremony included committee presentations, graduation ceremonies, a number of themed round tables and a gala evening. The 284 auditors of the 2024-2025 national session celebrated the end of a demanding year of training, with a crucial theme to decipher: "France facing the challenges of strategic change".
Throughout the year, the auditors - divided into five thematic majors: Armaments and Defence Economics (AED), Economic Defence and Security (DSE), Defence Policy (PolDef), Maritime Issues and Strategies (ESM), Digital Sovereignty and Cybersecurity (SNC) - followed a dense programme, spread over some forty days, to cross viewpoints, debate and reflect collectively on the strategic challenges of tomorrow and propose concrete recommendations for public action. They met many high-level civilian and military officials, visited strategic sites in France and took part in international study missions. These trips took them from French Guiana to Morocco, via the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Brazil, strengthening their understanding of national and international defence issues in a constantly changing geopolitical context.
The work carried out by the committees will be forwarded to the Prime Minister's office, which is responsible for overseeing the Institute, thereby helping to inform public policy on defence and national security.
Lieutenant General Hervé de Courrèges, Director of the IHEDN, concluded the session by congratulating the students for having radiated the spirit of the IHEDN throughout the year. A spirit that he described as a true family spirit, founded on four essential values: a sense of community, transmission, a positive culture and a commitment to the future. It is now up to the auditors to bring these values to life, to carry on the missions entrusted to them within their functions, and to contribute actively, each in his or her own place, to the defence and future of our nation.
François Bayrou: "Building a stronger, more united and more clear-sighted nation".
The highlight of the day was the closing address by Prime Minister François Bayrou to a packed amphitheatre.
The Prime Minister opened his speech by going back over the origins of the Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN), which was created against a backdrop of strategic rethinking, with the essential mission of training the nation's decision-makers in defence, security and sovereignty issues.
He recalled that national defence is a collective endeavour, involving every citizen. Being involved in defence means contributing to the country's protection and strategic interests in all areas - business, the media, government, the armed forces and politics. IHEDN embodies this link between civil society and military authority, between strategic thinking and practical action.
He then praised the work of the national session, held throughout the year on the theme of "strategic breakthroughs", which is more topical than ever. Over the past four years, we have witnessed a series of major upheavals - geopolitical, technological and economic - that have called into question our points of reference, weakened our alliances, challenged our democracies and shaken up Europe. This "tilting of the world" requires us to adapt.
Faced with this strategic earthquake, he called for a collective rethink of national defence, not only in its military dimensions, but also in its economic, industrial and political dimensions. He recalled France's unique position in the international community, as well as the foundations of its defence strategy, centred on deterrence, while emphasising the ongoing efforts to adapt in response to the profound changes in the world order.
Finally, he urged the participants to continue the commitment they had begun this year: "If you don't want to suffer the chaos of the world, you have to analyse it, understand it and take action. You have done this throughout this course. Now it's up to you to work together to build a stronger, more united and more clear-sighted nation. For the auditors' mission has only just begun: they now have the responsibility of preparing France for the challenges of tomorrow and actively contributing to its place in a changing world. "Today's meditators will be tomorrow's men and women of action.
Watch his speech on our YouTube channel:
