Military and Defense Co-operation

Directorate for Military and Defense Co-operation
ENVRs

Today, military and defence co-operation is an essential component of our diplomatic action.

Its integration within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clearly indicates a major concern for coherence in carrying out both bilateral and multilateral co-operation mission and enables the Directorate for Military and Defence Co-operation (DCMD) to play an active part in determining French foreign policy.

DCMD is composed of military personnel and diplomats and works closely with the Ministry of Defence. It offers institutional co-operation, which is complementary to the operational co-operation carried out by the Joint headquarters, various services and the Gendarmerie.

In Africa, a high-priority area in our co-operation programmes, DCMD focuses on partnership-based projects, with particular emphasis on a regional or sub-regional approach, mainly through schools and training centres, in such fields as peacekeeping, the strengthening of rule of law and internal security. This type of co-operation is slowly extending to English and Portuguese speaking countries.

New priorities have also been defined in:
  Central and Eastern European countries, with a special focus on EU candidates;
  Countries on the southern coast of the Mediterranean and in the Near and Middle East;
  Latin America;
  Asia.

Partnership

DCMD aims at developing projects designed with the beneficiary country on a partnership basis, in order to reach an objective set out in a common agreement. This approach can also be applied to establishing co-operation between two armed forces, creating a school, or implementing a long-term training programme.

The main purpose here is to foster relationships based on equality and to avoid any sort of collaboration that would result in mere assistance and substitution. This partnership is also European, and plans to be even more so in the future, in order to develop new fields of co-operation in which the sharing of experience and resources can ensure increased efficiency.

Objectives

At present, military and defence co-operation mainly targets our partners’ stability, which is paramount to their development in every dimension. It focuses on:
  Encouraging preservation of the rule of law, human rights and individual freedoms;
  Reinforcing partner State defence apparatus and structures;
  Favouring reflection and common action to optimise the use of defence structures.

Support

The Support department is tasked with carrying out co-operation action set out by the “Defence” and “Military” departments, and to ensure their completion working closely with personnel on the field. It is in charge of:
  Personnel management, working with both permanent and non-permanent co-operation workers and experts;
  Education/training, dealing with issues both in France and abroad;
  Supply, providing full assistance to co-operation workers and projects.

FOCUS

French education A world-wide influence

DCMD develops co-operation with both French speaking and non-French speaking partners. This is achieved through teaching programmes, both in France and abroad.

DCMD offers French-language programmes, with an ambition to ease access to ENVRs and French military academies, and to provide for better integration within peacekeeping operations.

It involves the help of a wealth of French teachers on a yearly basis, which are commissioned from various organisations such as the national centre for university and school works (CNOUS) or the general association of retired lecturers (AGIR).

RECAMP An actor in peacekeeping

The Reinforcement of African Peacekeeping Capabilities (RECAMP) programme aims at transferring the security of the African continent to its leaders. It allows for greater confidence building through an increase in transparency and multilateral exchanges.

The objective is to train and equip an African peacekeeping capacity, placed under UN command and in direct conjunction with the African Union.

DCMD actively participates in this programme. It provides various peacekeeping courses and training sessions within its ENVR network, and also conceives and manages the political and military seminars which precede the biennial exercises. In 2004, exercise RECAMP IV took place in Benin.

Audit and consultancy An international advisor

Audit and consultancy are elements that are becoming increasingly representative of DCMD’s world-wide action. They are materialised through the temporary or prolonged assignment of military co-operation workers at various ministerial and headquarters levels.

These French technical workers are tasked with assessing all or part of the defence apparatus, putting forward its fundamental weaknesses, and providing tangible solutions which are adapted to the country in question.

Many studies have already been undertaken in general fields, such as the audit of armed forces, but also in more specific ones like anti-mine warfare, shipbuilding, law and order, anti-terrorist warfare, and human resources.

This enables France to share its widely-recognised military experience and know-how.

Law and order Re-establishing the rule of law

DCMD aims at improving our partners’ local effective military capabilities, by way of structural co-operation (training, both in France and abroad; organisation and management consultancy) and supply-based co-operation (specific equipment supply and maintenance). The objective is to promote the rule of law, enabling local authorities to acquire control of their territorial zone of competence.

In addition to various training sessions already provided in a number of African countries in the fields of law and order and criminal police, DCMD has also opened a Gendarmerie school in Romania in July 2003, thus showing France’s will to actively participate in the development of our European partners.

Co-operation with international organisations A regional and sub-regional approach DCMD also undertakes military co-operation action with international organisations. This action can concern security, as the OSCE does, or have a regional scope, as is the case with the African Union.

Both the personnel involved and the financial assistance given have extensive international reach.

For instance, DCMD supported the reinforcement of the Peace Support Operations Training Centre (PSOTC), in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the training activities carried out by the Regional Arms Control Verification and Implementation Assistance Centre (RACVIAC) in Croatia. A permanent military adviser is assigned to the headquarters of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), with the assistant executive Secretary in charge of political, defence and security affairs.

Symposia and agreements Privileged links Every year, DCMD organises sessions on key international and regional security issues, in close collaboration with the Higher Studies Centre for Armament (CHEAr) and the Institute of Higher National Defence Studies (IHEDN). These symposia and seminars all provide partners with quality lectures, thanks to the participation of both French and foreign specialists, and they constitute a special place for high-level meetings.

DCMD is also tasked with the intergovernmental co-ordination of all defence agreements, from preparation to publication.

Equipment supply Personalised support

DCMD helps the partners of France to restructure and rebuild their own armed forces and security forces, especially when they are diminished and disorganised in the aftermath of a crisis. One type of action taken then is the supply of equipment, and chiefly the building of facilities, which is fully part of a global stabilisation strategy.

This direct form of co-operation may also be found in the field of peacekeeping. The equipment provided in this case ranges from binoculars to towing material, ambulance vehicles and medical supplies.

DCMD also participates in the restoration of armoured transport vehicles by financing local vehicle improvement facilities.

Missions

  Training:
  French language courses;
  Hosting of boarding students in French military schools and academies at all levels;
  Support for the creation of regionally-oriented schools (ENVRs);
  French experts sent abroad for training sessions;
  Training for peacekeeping operations;
  Organisation of seminars and symposia, and post-training follow-up.
  Audit and consultancy:
  Support in the rebuilding of armed forces;
  Institutional support;
  Law enforcement at sea;
  Supervision of partnership-based projects (facility restoration and building);
  Co-operation with regional and international organisations.

Overflights and port visits bureau

Grants all Overflight and port visit clearances abroad, in co-ordination with appropriate military and civil agencies, asks for French Overflight and port visit clearances abroad, and ensures the follow-up of sensitive material cargo.

A valuable regional integration factor

The French speaking African states, which needs often turned out to be the same, have long been aware that they shared the same interests and culture. In the military field, this led to the foundation of inter-african schools.

The concept of regionally-oriented schools (ENVRs) is based on that particular idea. In association with many African countries, France created training centers where both technical and tactical expertise are taught, in accordance with the needs of the African military leaders. ENVRs are training institutions that provide value-added teaching equal to those offered in France in terms of quality. The 15 schools are located in nine countries and are adapted to local realities and resources. They propose military training facilities to host countries and neighbouring armed forces. DCMD actively participates in the building of those schools and also during the educational programmes. Every year, they train an average of 1,000 interns in such fields as peacekeeping operations, internal security, health, mine clearance and administration. Considered as a valuable regional integration factor, these schools have become a key element in French cooperation policy.