The ability to adapt to circumstances has always been the first rule of survival. Pétain said so before the First World War, and De Gaulle said it again it before the Second. It is important that a country’s armed forces be adapted to the needs of the moment: if possible, they should try to plan ahead for future needs, but whatever happens they must not stay inextricably attached to the techniques, tactics and strategies of the past.

The first defence challenge facing us today is therefore that of succeeding in adaptation to current conditions. One might even say that it is the only worthwhile challenge. If we succeed in this adaptation, it will be good use of the money paid by the taxpayer for his protection. But just a few months before the new government is in place it is right to ask what are the key current conditions? The first is fairly favourable: all opinion polls show that the French have a good impression of their forces. We should be happy about this but not complacent, because it is not enough. Let us not forget that the French were very proud of their army in 1870, just before the Prussians shocked them into hard reality. There are many similar examples.

The second condition, or fact, is that without being aware of it, the French taxpayer is making a perfectly satisfactory effort towards his defence, as he has always done, and is doing so on about the same level as his British equivalent. His contribution is just a little less than that of an American taxpayer in terms of spending per person, yet far more than that in Russia, China and Germany.