The Response to Le Pen's Response

The following is a response, written I would guess by Jean-Pierre Fabre-Bernadac, to Marine Le Pen’s response (in English here) to the “Generals’ letter” (in English here). As blatant as Le Pen’s electoral preoccupation was in her letter, this response may seem harsh. But the redactors and signatories of the initial letter are clearly eager that their project not become too closely associated in the public mind with any particular political force.

We were surprised to read Marine Le Pen’s open letter in Valeurs actuelles, a letter written following the article “‘Pour un retour de l’honneur de nos gouvernants’: 20 généraux appellent Macron à défendre le patriotisme.” It seemed important to us to make a clarification and two remarks in reference to the words of the President of the Rassemblement National.

A clarification: Madame Le Pen has every right to address generals. This is her prerogative; and every one of the soldiers who signed the “letter to the leaders” has the ability, according to his own convictions, to respond positively to her inquiry. But this does not at all concern Place d’armes. The goal of our site is not to steer its members to a particular party; every subscriber possesses the discernment necessary to find his own political path.

Two remarks:

It is, to say the least, indelicate to wage a campaign of “solicitation” for electoral objectives. She might quite simply have declared herself in line with our concerns. Moreover, let her rest assured that we will not confine ourselves to mere exhortations. Our combat has barely begun; we will not rest till we have achieved our end: to save our country from destruction.

Next, and perhaps the most serious in her letter, is her total misunderstanding of the military world. Indeed, over the thousand signatures (and more are always incoming) she privileged only those of the twenty generals. Now, if armies are commanded by generals, no general could exist without the troupe; and by troupe we mean the rank and file as well as N.C.O.s and officers. By exclusively foregrounding eighteen officers of high rank she neglected the 980 other soldiers who committed by signing our missive.