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PARIS: Serving members of the French military has fired a second salvo at Emmanuel Macron’s government in an open letter accusing it of granting ‘concessions to Islamism’, saying that the country’s survival was at stake.
The letter echoes the tone of a similar letter published by the same magazine last month, which also warned that a civil conflict was brewing. “For some religious communities, France means nothing but an object of sarcasm, contempt or even hatred,” the letter stated.
It is not clear how many people are behind the current letter or what their ranks are. “We are not talking about extending your mandates or conquering others. We are talking about the survival of our country,” said the letter.
The authors described themselves as active-duty soldiers from the younger generation of the military. “They have offered up their lives to destroy the Islamism that you have made concessions to on our soil,” it added.
It added, “If a civil war breaks out, the military will maintain order on its own soil. Civil war is brewing in France and you know it perfectly well.”
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, a close ally of Macron, slammed the letter as a “crude manoeuvre” and accused its anonymous signatories of lacking “courage”.
The previous letter sparked a furore in France, with the prime minister calling it an unacceptable interference and France’s top general vowing that those behind it would be punished.