Contenu du sommaire : Avenir de la guerre et ses mutations (suite)

Despite what its name implies, cyber warfare is far from virtual: it is real, affects all areas of activity and puts our sovereignty at risk. It is also a clearly stated priority for France, which dedicates substantial means to the matter and continues to invest in order to maintain digital superiority so that the country may act as it wishes.

Some experts, in Asia in particular, see the enhanced man as a key element to winning a battle. And yet this leads to an ethical and operational impasse, since it is only through moral, physical and responsible training that tomorrow's soldiers will be able to confront adversity by calling upon a realistic approach to future warfare.

Technological, biological and genetic progress offers the ability to modify and improve the performance of the individual and the soldier. The concept of the enhanced soldier is undergoing research but is also leading to consideration of its ethics. The Ministry for the Armed Forces is working on the subject, and is doing so within a self-imposed and rigorous legal framework.

Digitisation is shaking up the planning and conduct of operations. Better use of information means better preparation of collaborative combat, changes in modes of operation at the tactical level and acceleration of operational tempo. Nevertheless, human resources and capacity remain essential factors in order to achieve all of that.

Submarine fleets need to be analysed from the point of view of simple numbers, of course, but also from that of quality, since quality relates to operational capability. Some countries have given up on submarines whilst others are developing their submarine capability with clearly stated intentions. It is apparent that not only has the submarine a rosy future, it will also be the subject of an arms race.

General André Beaufre (1902-1975) enjoyed a rewarding military career with great responsibility. He was a renowned strategic thinker, whose contribution to forecasting the future merits study since it was built upon experience, pragmatism and analysis of the possible, which led to revelation of the probable.

Contemporary society is centred to a large extent on intelligence, problems that call for short-term solutions and recourse to technology. Yet for all that, today's society is suffering a spiritual crisis: we are incapable of distinguishing that which is, or ought to be, common property. There is an urgent need to take control of our time and to reflect on what is truly important, hence the need for the spiritual element.

Commitment is the will to serve and participate collectively in some mission. Military commitment is a particular form of this dedication with regard to the nation, and the latter should therefore recognise it and value it. To do so means that there has to be sense in the mission—therein lies the responsibility of the leader.

Selfishness is weakening our social structure to the detriment of the common good. Innovation and progress must serve man, and not the reverse. From this comes the need to reflect on the notion of progress thence to take charge and drive towards a future that we would wish to see, and not one that is imposed upon us.

Since the collapse of the Soviet bloc, and despite a period of stability, crisis has followed crisis leading to instability and increased tension whilst provoking anxiety and engendering greater nationalism. We need to anticipate these crises and face up to reality yet without ignoring future threats.

President Erdogan has geopolitical ambitions with a clearly expressed wish for Turkey to be a regional power. Turkish armed forces are committed in several theatres of operation even though the purges since the putsch of 15 July 2016 have weakened the command structure and sapped the morale of their officers.

Since independence in 1919, Afghanistan has been in a state of war founded on ethnic rivalry, and violence escalated in 1979. Worse yet, with its intervention after 11 September 2001, the United States repeated Soviet errors by imposing a political model that ran counter to Afghan society.

The Battle of France tested our doctrine for use of tanks. Technically, there was little to chose between ours and those of the Wehrmacht: the R35, H35 and B1 were effective, contrary to what myth would have us believe. The real defeat was that of the French high command, incapable of anticipating and reacting when faced with the break-though at Sedan.

Little was known of the intense submarine activity that took place during the Cold War. The United States enjoyed considerable technological superiority, and this silent confrontation was to the great detriment of Moscow, even though the USSR was able to benefit from intelligence gathered by its network of spies in the USA.

The current trend is to denigrate all Napoleon's achievements, as if he were the incarnation of all French guilt. And yet that is far from the case: the Emperor was able to complete the revolution by consolidating what it had achieved, and at the same time he was a genius of military strategy. It is paradoxical that Napoleon is today more greatly admired in other countries than our own.

The USSR's political manoeuvring in 1939-1940 was extensive. It dealt on one hand with Germany through the non-aggression pact, and on the other—and in a different way—with London and Paris after the defeat of Poland, by awarding itself some of the bounty through its annexation of the Baltic States. Stalin expanded his empire with brutality, causing wounds which have still not healed 80 years later.