Paris (Agencies): The French army is on high alert and ready to engage in combat to defend the country if necessary, General Pierre Schill, the army chief of staff, said in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche. “If the situation requires it, we are ready for combat starting this evening to protect the French people and the country’s vital interests,” he told the newspaper in an interview published on Monday.
General Schill emphasized that the French army is prepared for high-intensity warfare with a peer adversary. A force of 20,000 soldiers is on standby, with some currently deployed abroad in countries like Lebanon, Iraq, Estonia, and Romania. French instructors have also been training Ukrainian soldiers in France and Poland.
The general highlighted that the army’s main objective is to develop the ability to adapt to new methods of warfare. He previously mentioned in an op-ed that the French army was ready for the “toughest” engagements after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that Europe should send troops to Ukraine.