Chief of the defense staff Fabien Mandon arrives before a meeting between France's president and Ukraine's president at the Elysée Palace in Paris on November 17, 2025, LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP
France's top general on Thursday, November 20, faced accusations of war-mongering after warning that the country must be ready to "lose its children" against the background of the threat posed by Russia.
The comments by chief of the defense staff General Fabien Mandon in a speech to local mayors on Tuesday have revived a debate over how far France and its European allies should be prepared to go in the conflict. Russia and Ukraine have been at war since Moscow in February 2022 launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbour. European powers, including France, have backed Ukraine with increasing supplies of weapons but have always insisted they are not directly involved in the conflict.
"We have all the knowledge, all the economic and demographic strength to deter the Moscow regime from trying its luck by going further," said Mandon. "What we lack, and this is where you have a major role to play, is the strength of spirit to accept suffering in order to protect who we are."
Paying tribute to French forces deployed worldwide, he added: "If our country falters because it is not prepared to accept – let's be honest – to lose its children, to suffer economically because defense production will take precedence, then we are at risk."
