"War in Ukraine: one year on, what lessons can we learn?" This was the title of the conference organised on 16 February at the École Militaire by several organisations, including the IHEDN and the IRSEM. Opened by Lieutenant General Benoît DurieuxThierry Burkhard, Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, brought together specialists from a wide range of civilian and military disciplines, researchers, doctors and officers from the three services, who shared their analyses of the lessons to be learned from the conflict.
Here is a selection of rich, dense materialHere are some of the key points raised by five speakers over the course of the day.
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.
Episode 3: French society
In this third instalment of our summer series, two original intellectuals of the 20the Two figures from the 20th century offer their analysis of various aspects of the country during their time, the late De Gaulle era: the journalist Françoise Giroud dissects the print media sector, whilst the philosopher Jacques Ellul paints a scathing portrait of French youth, from the ‘blousons noirs’ to the ‘minets’ and the hippies.
Episode 2: The School of Strategy
In this second episode of our summer series, two of the greatest French «strategists» of the 20the Two figures from the 20th century shed light on strategy and its relationship with politics: the philosopher Raymond Aron and General André Beaufre.
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.
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