Gathered Friday afternoon at the Pont du Gard, many mayors and defense correspondents from the department participated in an information meeting organized by General Carleton, commander of the 6th Light Armored Brigade (6th BLB) and departmental military delegate of Gard. This meeting was held on the sidelines of Arcus, the forum for defense and security professions, which simultaneously welcomed several hundred young people who came to discover the career opportunities offered by the armies, the gendarmerie, the police and even the emergency services.
The objective of this meeting was to relaunch the network of defense correspondents following the municipal elections last March and to strengthen the links between communities and the armies in an international context marked by numerous tensions.
“I didn’t think we would have this many people today. It’s an excellent thing,” greeted General Carleton at the opening of the meeting, welcoming the strong mobilization of Gard elected officials.
A defense that concerns all of society
The departmental military delegate first recalled the role of defense correspondents within the municipalities and the importance of the link between the armies and communities.
“National defense is not just the problem of the military,” he insisted. “In the Defense Code, there is military defense but also civil defense. This concerns the way in which the country prepares to face a major crisis, whether military, climatic, industrial, health or economic. HAS”
The general presented the missions of the departmental military delegate, the privileged interlocutor of elected officials for all questions relating to defense, reserves, patriotic ceremonies or even relations with military units.
Gard, strategic territory for the armies
Taking advantage of this meeting, General Carleton also provided an overview of the military presence in the department. The 6th Light Armored Brigade, based in Nîmes since 1984, brings together nearly 7,500 active soldiers and 2,000 reservists distributed in seven regiments.
Among them are the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment in Nîmes, the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment in Laudun-l’Ardoise and the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-brigade on the Larzac plateau.
Gard today constitutes one of the main French military centers with nearly 4,000 soldiers stationed around Nîmes and several thousand members of their families living in the territory.
“The armies represent around 7,500 jobs in Gard,” recalled the general. “Added to this are significant investments in infrastructure and operating expenses which directly benefit the local economy. HAS”
Develop the spirit of defense
The meeting also made it possible to discuss the actions carried out with young people. A few hours earlier, a defense class from Aubord College had also been rewarded as part of Arcus.
For General Carleton, one of the challenges consists of raising awareness of defense professions but also of transmitting the values of commitment and service.
“We recruit nearly 25,000 people into the armed forces each year. Arcus is participating in this recruitment effort but also in spreading the spirit of defense,” he explained.
He also encouraged municipalities to develop municipal reserves and to invest more in systems promoting the resilience of territories in the face of crises.
“The return of war to Europe”
The second part of the intervention was devoted to the evolution of the global geopolitical context.
General Carleton believed that the period of “peace dividends” following the Cold War was now over. According to him, the war in Ukraine marked the return of a high-intensity conflict at the gates of Europe.
“We live in a harder, more uncertain and bigger world,” he said. “The use of force has once again become a normal method of resolving conflicts. HAS”
He notably mentioned tensions in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Indo-Pacific region, believing that crises no longer follow one another but overlap.
Faced with these challenges, the commander of the 6th BLB recalled that the country’s preparation did not rely solely on the armies but on all public actors.
A message addressed directly to the elected officials present, called to play a growing role in the dissemination of defense culture and the preparation of territories for the crises of tomorrow.
