France’s top general on lessons from the battlefield

IN 2021, a year before Russia invaded Ukraine, General Thierry Burkhard told The Economist that the French army had to “harden” itself and prepare for “high-intensity war”, possibly in Europe. One hypothetical adversary was Russia. Today, the ex-head of the army is France’s top soldier, in charge of all armed forces. His analysis turned out to be prescient. It also formed the basis of a training exercise for French and allied soldiers on a scale not seen for decades, which finished last month.