Strong reactions have been sparked in recent hours in France by the call by the chief of the army’s general staff, Fabienne Mandon, for the country’s mayors to prepare citizens for the losses – human and economic – of a possible war with Russia. His statement was met with immediate condemnation from major political parties, which emphasized their disagreement with the need to prepare for war and his assessment of Russia as a threat to France.

During the annual meeting of French mayors in Paris, General Mandon, addressing local officials, said that citizens must be prepared to “accept suffering to protect what we are.” “We have all the knowledge and all the economic and demographic power to deter the Moscow regime,”he said, adding that if France is not ready“to accept the loss of its children and to suffer economically as priorities are given to defense production, then we are in danger.”

The general’s remarks drew strong reactions from political parties, with the left and right wings of the political spectrum expressing their opposition. The leader of the hard left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, expressed his “total disagreement” with Mandon via a post on X, arguing that it is not the general’s job to “predict sacrifices that will result from our diplomatic failures.”Melanson recalled that his party, “France Untouchable”, along with the Communist Party, were the only ones to vote against sending military aid to Ukraine.

Fabienne Roussel, leader of the Communist Party, accused Mandon of a warlike attitude. Both parties expressed reservations about France’s policy toward Russia and the war in Ukraine.

On the other hand, Sebastien Cheney, an MP from Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, said in an interview with French TV station LCI that Mandon“has no legitimacy” to make such statements and that he was concerned that they might reflect the thinking of President Emanuel Macron.

General Mandon, who took over as chief of staff of the French armed forces earlier this year, has previously warned that France must prepare for a “shock” with Russia in the next“three or four years”, and his statements continue to cause division on the political scene.