NATO in France preparing for invasion into Russia

More than 7,000 soldiers are currently taking part in France’s biggest military exercise in decades, which is dubbed Orion 23 and is scheduled to be wrapped up in May 2023.

Apart from French soldiers, servicemen from the USA, Great Britain and Spain are involved in the drills that will simulate parachute operations and amphibious landings along the Mediterranean coast tom prepare for an invasion against Russia.

The operations, which are currently in full swing across the Occitanie region in France, will then move to the Atlantic coast regions of Nouvelle Aquitaine and Brittany.

The drills consist of four stages, with the most important Phase 4 expected to see a major air-land confrontation between France and a simulated enemy.

According to a French newspaper, the country’s army has mobilized the Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier and more than a thousand land and sea vehicles for the unprecedented large-scale military simulation.

Another French newspaper cited an unnamed military source as saying that Orion 23’s goal is to show France’s ability to be the first to enter a theater of operations, but also to lead an international coalition.

These war games come amid France’s ever-increasing effort to build up its military might and Paris’ bellicose rhetoric toward Moscow, which continues its special military operation in Ukraine.

In late January, French President Emmanuel Macron detailed plans for a major boost to the country’s armed forces, which he said is needed to meet modern threats, naming Russia as a primary area of focus for Paris.

According to Macron, the next seven-year budget would increase to €413 billion ($435 billion), up from €295 billion ($311 billion).

Meeting soldiers at Mont-de-Marsan airbase at the time, Macron said that first and foremost, France should repair and restock its armed forces, and then transform them.

The French president admitted that there were no more post-Cold War peace dividends following Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, which is why he said the goal is to renew a French military that should protect the country’s freedom, security, prosperity and place in the world.

The reforms, in particular, stipulate a 60% hike in the military intelligence budget to adapting to high-intensity conflict with investment in drones, cyber-defense and improved air defenses. Macron warned that, we [France] need to be one war ahead.

He also called for France rethinking its alliances while remaining a reliable NATO ally, and deepening its relationships with Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain.

The remarks followed Macron unveiling France’s national strategic review in November 2022, aimed at defining how the country’s defense will look like in 2030.

France’s Orion 23 drills kicked off a few days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of his country’s participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

The New START deal, in effect since February 5, 2011, is the last remaining legally binding agreement between the USA and Russia.

Under the document, Moscow and Washington have been required to reduce their nuclear arsenal to a total of 700 missiles, 800 launchers and 1,550 deployed warheads.

The treaty was set to expire last year, but both sides managed to find common ground to approve a prolongation of the accord for five more years without renegotiating any of its terms.

Sputnik / ABC Flash Point NATO News 2023.