French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has condemned a new letter, allegedly authored by active French military personnel, that warns of a potential civil war in France.
The French interior minister criticised the authors of the letter for writing it anonymously, saying: “Is that the courage in being anonymous?” and adding: “When you want to play politics, you run for office.”
According to a report from French broadcaster BFMTV, Darmanin made his statements before actually reading the letter, which was published over the weekend by the conservative magazine Valeurs Actuelles.
The letter refers to recent combat operations by France in Africa and Afghanistan. It also claims that many of the authors were involved in the domestic anti-terrorist security mission Operation Sentinel, which began after the 2015 Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris.
“Almost all of us have known Operation Sentinel. We saw with our eyes the abandoned suburbs, the housing with its delinquency. We have attempted to engage several religious communities, for whom France means nothing — nothing but an object of sarcasm, contempt, and even hatred,” the authors, allegedly active-duty soldiers, state.
The missive goes on to refer to another letter published last month that warned of civil war and was signed by 20 French generals, also first published by Valeurs Actuelles.
“Yes, our superiors are right about the substance of their text, in its entirety. We see violence in our towns and villages. We see communitarianism taking hold in the public space, in public debate. We see the hatred of France and its history becoming the norm,” the new letter states.
The new letter also warns of a potential civil war in France, saying: “No one can want such a terrible situation, our superiors no more than we do, but yes, again, the civil war is brewing in France, and you know it perfectly well.”
Unlike the previous letter, Valeurs Actuelles has included the option for people to sign the new letter themselves. Hundreds of thousands have done so.