week 1: UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY STRATEGIC ISSUES
The 248e he regional session of the IHEDN in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté opened on Tuesday 17 March at the prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort during a solemn inaugural day.
With the theme of major contemporary strategic issues, this first week immediately laid the foundations for a demanding and collective debate. Participants were able to combine first-hand experience, analytical input and initial discussions.
The visits offered a particularly rich panorama of the region's operational and industrial realities. At Luxeuil's 116 air base, everyone had the opportunity to get a bird's eye view of the Air Force and space missions, measure the constraints and grasp, in all their concrete density, the requirements of air defence at a base undergoing major transformation. This immersion continued at 35e regiment and at Alstom, where the commitment of the forces and the vitality of the region's strategic industrial fabric can be seen in different but complementary ways.
The conferences, meanwhile, structured the discussions around essential benchmarks for further training: an overview of the region provided by INSEE, a look at the military programming law and the armed forces budget, and a round-table discussion on subcontracting in the defence industry.
This first phase enabled the auditors to get to know each other, to sketch out the first links and to begin work in committees, thus initiating a dynamic that will be strengthened over the coming weeks.
The 46 students will spend a demanding week in Besançon, immersing themselves in the environment of our armed forces.
week 2: KNOWLEDGE OF WEAPONS AND DEFENCE TOOLS
From 24 to 27 March, the auditors of the 248th regional session of the IHEDN in Burgundy-Franche-Comté met in Besançon for a week of intensive and immersive internship, marked by the diversity of the encounters and the richness of the themes addressed. Auditors began their second week at the Doubs prefecture.
The lectures were structured around major and particularly topical strategic issues. From the missions of the armed forces health service to the complex balances of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from a presentation of the capabilities and missions of the French Navy to the foundations and implications of France's nuclear deterrence policy, the presentations provided rich and complementary insights. They gave listeners a better understanding of the diversity of military engagements and the major determinants of our contemporary strategic environment.
The week was also punctuated by several high-profile field visits. At the SDIS 25, the auditors were able to get a real feel for the organisation of emergency services and the operational management of response operations. A visit to the 19th engineering regiment at Thoraise provided a close-up view of military capabilities, illustrating the key role played by engineers in operations. Finally, a visit to DIXI Microtechniques highlighted the region's advanced industrial expertise and its role in strategic value chains.
In addition to the conferences and visits, the week's internship strengthened the cohesion of the group. The work done by the committees was more in-depth, enabling the group to think more deeply together and gradually structure the reports expected at the end of the session.
This second week confirms the momentum that has been built up since the session was launched: demanding, collective and resolutely focused on understanding contemporary defence and security issues.
week 3: EXPLORING INDUSTRIAL SOVEREIGNTY AND INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
From 7 to 10 April, the session's 46 auditors had the opportunity to learn about the challenges of international cooperation and conflict from Chalon-sur-Saône.
Visits to the Inter-Army Petroleum Base, the Michelin plant in Blanzy and the Framatome plant in Saint-Marcel enabled the class to immerse themselves more deeply in the issues of industrial production, supply chains and logistics networks. At the crossroads of these interconnected issues, they were able to develop the global understanding that is the added value of IHEDN courses.
The week's conferences and debates put these issues into perspective with the current upheavals in the world order, the effects of which are being felt as far away as Burgundy Franche-Comté. On the agenda: a sociological approach to decision-making processes in foreign policy, a study of the French language as a lever of power, a comprehensive overview of the French cyber security environment and an ambitious panorama of the ongoing adaptation of the French armed forces to the metamorphosis of the international conflict environment.
It's been a busy, fast-paced week, with plenty of time for bonding as we enter the home straight. See you in Dijon on Tuesday 14 April!
