French Minister Florence Parly approximate on European defense

(B2) Is it the effect of the coronavirus, and a temporary disorganization within the office of the Minister for the Armed Forces, or a deeper political signal? Still, Europe seems to be the least of the worries of Florence Parly, the French Minister for the Armed Forces. And its European communication seems to absent subscribers

While we proclaim "Europe Europe Europe" (as General de Gaulle would say) urbi et orbi, the concrete elements of this Europeanness are more difficult to measure. Three recent examples demonstrate this.

First example: the forgetting of the Czechs in Operation Takuba

On March 27, in full tension on the coronavirus, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces communicated on the establishment of the Takuba task force. A victory-like press release (published at the beginning of the night, 21 p.m.) which proclaims the operationality of this task force, but forgets an important player: the Czech Republic. She, who not only made a promise to contribute, but also initiated the process in Parliament for it. It is in the same position as Sweden. But if Stockholm is cited, Prague is not (read: Task force Takuba: the oblivion of the Czech Republic. A French blunder?). The reason for this oversight is unfathomable. Could it be that Paris does not really want too much promiscuity with Prime Minister Andrej Babis, with whom he shares the same benches in the European Parliament (from the liberal-centrist Renew group), but not quite the same approach? ? Or a dumpling. In any case, this gives a 'false' default information.

Second example: a major lack of communication, the French MinArm adopts all English

On April 23, another bugle sound from the ministry. The three countries of the European Intervention Initiative (EII) - France, United Kingdom, Netherlands - are setting up coordination for Covid-19 relief in the Caribbean. The press release is published only in English, a slight departure from the Toubon law on the use of French. A detail almost evaded without concern by the communication of the Defense. It's for " be faster we are told. Strange, the Hotel de Brienne had plenty of time to prepare. The Dutch Ministry of Defense has already communicated on the subject, for ... two weeks. On April 9, La Haye announced the deployment of his ship and the coordination with the French and British in Martinique.

« Ook Frankrijk en het Verenigd Koninkrijk hebben elk een marineschip in het gebied. Met deze landen is een coördinatie-cel ingericht op Martinique om waar nodig samen te werken. Zo kan by Karel Doorman deze schepen voorzien van brandstof. »

In substance, imprecision reigns, French communication thus ignores hurricane preparation, yet an important aspect in the Caribbean, highlighted by the British (read: France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom coordinate in the Caribbean)

Third example: the Franco-German tank project, between Paris and Berlin, 48 hours difference

Berlin publishes the same day (April 28) of the signing of an agreement defining the commitments of the tank of the future Franco-German a communicated quite general but containing the main information. In Paris, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, is content with a pale tweet two days later, without further details. No press release will be published.

With my counterpart @ack we signed - remotely - the agreement enabling the launch of architectural studies for the future battle tank. From 2035: a modern, connected, European tank. The Europe of defense is being built with humility, confidence and in concrete terms. 🇪🇺🇩🇪🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/UL6TqWsrgz

- Florence Parly (@florence_parly) April 30, 2020

We will not discuss here the communication on the cases of Coronavirus on the Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier that we have been monitoring. The chaotic, adversarial communication from one day to the next is indicative of a problem that goes beyond a simple matter of words or sentences (read: The French carrier battle group hit to the heart. The situation minimized by the armies (v3)).

An evanescent presence during the Councils of Ministers at European level

As for the Minister's presence at the ministerial meetings with the European Union (and also with NATO), it is so unexpected that the question is no longer even broached during the pre-meeting briefings (1). While several of the European colleagues come to see, before, during, or after "their" national journalists, the Minister has other things to do than come in front of simple 'peasants' to explain the content of the decisions and discussions taken. During the last informal meeting in Zagreb, where almost all the Ministers of Foreign Affairs or Defense came to lend themselves to this exercise, sometimes in a very informal way, or individually, the French Minister passed like an arrow, without any comment no detail. It's a shame, the voice of France, yet so vocal on Europe, is thus absent subscribers.

Comments : before constantly shouting misinformation, or scolding journalists because it finds their questions a little too pushy, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces would be well advised to first communicate better, on time, honestly, giving as much details as possible (and in French, please). A major upgrade is needed.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

1. With the exception of our colleague from AFP, the agency's sublime tenacity obliges.