The neck. Alain Faugeras (Fr) appointed head of EUBAM Rafah

(B2) French Colonel Alain Faugeras should soon be appointed head of the civilian border surveillance mission Eubam Rafah. The appointment should be approved on November 5 at the COPS (the political and security committee). He will replace the Italian general Pietro Pistolese from November 25. Confirmation has yet to be obtained from the parties on the spot (Israel, Palestine).

Multiple experiences in the gendarmerie. Alain Faugeras was - since 2005 - "gendarmerie" adviser and head of the "civil crisis management" section at the French Permanent Representation (RP) to the EU in Brussels. After two years of preparatory classes in Saint-Cyr, at the military college of Autun, in 1975, and a period of reserve officer in the airborne troops, weapon of the Train, Alain Faugeras orients himself completely in the gendarmerie. After the National Gendarmerie school in Melun (1979), he took successive commands of a section in the 1st RI of the Republican Guard (1981), then of a motorized platoon from Versailles (1984, and the company of Saint -Pierre - Reunion Island (1988) In 1991, he was a staff officer at the command of the air transport gendarmerie (1991), served at the joint operational planning staff of Creil. the mobile gendarmerie group of Aubervilliers (1998), then that of the departmental gendarmerie of Ajaccio - Corse du Sud (2000).

He took part in several external operations - in these various functions: in ex-Yugoslavia (under the IFOR - SFOR) and in Albania (operation Alba); before being seconded to Brussels to the PR.

The Eubam mission. Set up following agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the "Eubam Rafah" monitoring mission at the Rafah crossing very quickly underwent political change after Hamas' victory in the elections in January 2006 and the boycott of Gaza by Israel, the United States and the European Union. Between June 2006 and June 2007, the crossing point – normally closed – was opened several times on an exceptional basis. This had allowed 165 to transit. Since June 000, the mission has been suspended until further notice. It had until recently still 2007 people. It will only have about fifteen now. Despite the complete blockage, and the forced layoff of the mission, the EU nevertheless persists in keeping the mission operational (... doing nothing). A matter of principle, we are assured by the High Representative. We never know. The EU is “ready to redeploy its personnel to the Rafah crossing point, as soon as conditions permit” is the official leitmotif.

(NGV)