Contenu du sommaire : Stratégie navale du futur

Maritime issues will be at the very heart of strategic concerns for France, and it is imperative that the Navy's assets be increased in both quantity and quality. Innovation and cooperation will need to be developed if France is to play a role as a balancing power.

Much can be learned from the war in Ukraine : maritime matters are no exception, for the conflict is marking the end of propitious globalisation and the return of sabre-rattling, especially on the seas. All of which confirms the need to reinforce our naval posture from a global approach, rather than a purely regional one.

The war in Ukraine has precipitated a change in energy flow : a move from land-based gas pipelines to LNG shipped by sea. The Mediterranean is once again becoming a focal point for hydrocarbons, hence an increased need for securing this highly coveted sea area.

The Mediterranean Sea is vital to French and European interests—the more so, given an increasing number of crises and an arms race. To respond to such challenges the Navy needs more assets and to look for new partners, for its operational commitment is certain to grow.

The Indo-Pacific is a major zone in which the security of France, as a coastal nation there, is directly affected. The grave changes afoot are rapidly transforming this complex space. With broadened missions, the French Navy has an essential role to play.

The use of space resources is now commonplace—for the armed forces as for everyone. The Navy is now highly dependent on our space capabilities, which need to be ever-more robust and protected through the use of hybrid systems. Space is now a distinctly separate operational environment.

Climate change and the harm being caused to biodiversity are fundamentally changing our geopolitical environment. The Navy is directly confronted by these issues and is bringing its competence and capabilites to bear in the search for varied and helpful responses to these risky and threatening developments.

The wealth of natural resources in the Gulf of Guinea is at the origin of many forms of maritime insecurity against which the coastal states are obliged to react. Through the Marine Nationale, France is fully committed to supporting its regional partners. One of the keys to success will be the sharing of maritime information.

Suffren, the first of the new-generation Barracuda class SSNs is now in service. The class, which will eventually have 6 members, will be able to go further, faster and for longer. The Barracudas will therefore reinforce longer-term French strategy.

The current rapid changes in geopolitics mean we need to speed up the process of modernisation of the Navy's systems. New modes of innovation need to be found, with the aim of boosting capabilities such as drones and directed energy weapons. At the same time, that requires greater reactivity and risk-taking.

Interoperability poses an ever-greater challenge. It is essential at sea and a permanent consideration for the armed forces. The Navy is actively working to develop its capability, notably by working with the US Navy. Such work requires the ability to operate with the F-35 community whilst retaining our strategic autonomy.

The French naval industry is a major asset which contributes to national strategic autonomy. In an environment of intensified international competition, GICAN (Groupement des industries de construction et activités navales—the French Maritime Industry Group) brings different companies together and helps boost the DITB. GICAN's work includes the organisation of trade fairs such as Euronaval.

Socarenam is a shipyard in the north of France, founded in 1961. Over 300 civil and military vessels have left its slipways. The company has diversified with the production of patrol craft, including the POM (patrouilleurs outre-mer—offshore patrol craft for French overseas territories), currently under development. There, the challenge lies also in human resources.

The Conflict in Ukraine is putting the spotlight on economic sovereignty. Since 2014 and the establishment of sanctions linked to its annexation of Crimea, Russia has been redirecting its economy. Western countries only took note of their own vulnerability when the Covid crisis struck and thus are trailing somewhat in this economic and financial confrontation.

The war waged by Russia against Ukraine illustrates Moscow's will for a break with the West. Ukraine now finds itself sitting on one of what Samuel Huntington called fault lines. This conflict clearly indicates that history continues to move forward and that Ukraine is free to choose its destiny.

The question of genocide is often approached from an emotional standpoint and is then manipulated to political ends. When looking to define intention, a legal approach is needed in order to avoid unfounded accusations and the effects of propaganda which ignore material facts and neglect the victims.

History allows us to make comparisons and to understand geopolitical disruption. The Second Sino-Japanese War, started in 1937 by Tokyo, soon became bogged down through lack of precise war aims. Japanese contempt for the Chinese led to unjustified massacres. Such lessons have been forgotten by Moscow in 2022.

The war in Ukraine is highlighting the importance of the operational defence of home territory. Such defence no longer exists in France as a result of choices made a quarter of a century ago and which are no longer appropriate to current threats. A new look at the operational defence of mainland France is not only feasible but should be a priority.

A spirit of defence is essential for national cohesion. It is achieved through joint action by the forces and éducation nationale—the state education system. Whilst acknowledging teachers' pedagogical freedom, it is nevertheless important to boost available resources with reservists in order to build the spirit of defence that is so necessary to the nation.

From the Czars, via the USSR, to Putin, there have been lines of continuity in Russian politics including an imperial, even imperialist, vision of a geographical space. Too often, alas, this policy has been carried out by altering and manipulating reality at the risk of major failure.