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France is not investing into tanks and land troops, because that's where Germany and Poland are investing. France role in a war where the EU is fighting alone would be nuclear deterrence, providing 1 carrier strike group (realistically for use in the Atlantic or North Sea) and keep trade line open with the UK and the US. Italy would focus on securing the Med (and as you can see, Italy is investing most of its resources on the Navy, keeping 2 "carriers" capable of launching F35B) and Germany and Poland would be the one providing the bulk of tanks (Germany) and mechanized infantry (Poland will have one if the largest mobile infantry corps in the world in a couple of years time) for the main front. It's the first time I'm aware of where European nations are preparing to fight against a foreign enemy and splitting the roles so clearly.
@@t-dawg894it's all very public information actually. I don't have a single source to point out, but for example, look at new military vehicles under development: Poland is putting a lot of effort into IFVs (also look at the announced numbers...), Rheinmetall is developing a new Leopard III (yes, it's a private venture, but they are not stupid, they must have some ideas on where the increased military spending announced by the German government will go before embarking into a private venture on something nobody in the west did for 40 years, a brand new tank...). France is targeting production of a new carrier soon (let's be honest, the CdG wasn't exaclty a success...), and Italy has just replaced Garibaldi (that was comically small and very obsolete) with the brand new Trieste and both project required and will require a lot of money to be combat capable and have enough aircrafts to be useful. most likely, cut will be done elsewhere (and the fact that both countries have undewhelming tank forces and no plan to improve the situation is very telling). You clearly see a pattern there if you put all the info together. most EU nations are putting more resources into one branch or the other, and my guess is that there is a reason and it's not just rolling the dices.
@@Forien Realistically nordics would mostly provide femboys. Lets be real for a minute, you guys sure are cute, but you weight nothing in the grand scheme of things
Um... France didn't surrender in World War One. They DID get their @$$€$ handed to them in the Franco-Prussian War, and were eager for a re-match, which we know as World War One. That re-match didn't exactly follow the French script, shall we say, but they didn't surrender.
Well, in the end France litteraly was the big winner of World War One, and forced Germany into surrendering by kicking their asses on the Western Front and its allies’ asses, Bulgaria and the Austro-Hungarian empire on the southern front.
Not really true, France did not expect to be attacked in World war One and Germany did not want to attack them either. Austria Hungary having failled to provide protection for their Prince believed it had full support from Germany to back up their aggressiveness against Serbia and the Russians believed they'd not been aggressive enough in previous disputes so mobilised. Because of German success in getting the army into the field first in the Franco Prussian war and the victory Germany believed if the Russians got in the field before them they'd loose, they even asked the British to get the Russians to stop mobilising, when the Russians didn't stop mobilising the Germans did and then believing they'd end up in a 2 front war decided to attack france first and knock them out (prewar strategists believed any future war would be highly destructive mobile and short as the desructiveness of modern weapons - artilery shells and machine guns meant that any defences would be destroyed. Obviously this was not the case in the West and you ended up with a static war, on the Eastern front though the war was highly mobile. Germany was only defeated on the western front because they were forced (by immient arrival of more US forces) to attack from their prepared positions into open fields.
He really said that? Wtf? France is one of the only countries that if it would have never existed, the world would be radically different and certainly less advanced. But coming from an american, it didn’t surprise me.
Сверх держава франция которой 1000 лет. На этом моменте понятно, хз, эьо недостаток образования в целом на западе? Что такое сверх держава? Их всего было 2 в истории. И обе в 20ом веке и обе НЕ ФРАНЦИЯ. готовятся к войне, за пол года подготовились к какой войне? Началась уже? Или за пол года франция сбежала из Африки не может продать самолётов? Какую конченую чушь несёт автор видео.
@@ИванИванов-ф7д4н Revoyez vos cours d'histoire. Il y a 150 - 200 ans la France et l'Angleterre se partageaient 70% de la planète. Sans l'aide de la France les USA n'auraient peut-être jamais été indépendants.
The French and the polish are the only ones who accept that the Americans won’t paytheir defense bills forever and took matters into their own hands. I respect that a lot. Edit: what a lively thread. Didn’t think there would be this much engagement. I should’ve written this better. When I say “only ones” I mean out of the heavyweight economies in Europe. Plenty of the smaller nations especially in Eastern Europe definitely take their security seriously. We love you guys across the pond. It’s why we help. We just grow tried of being told how inferior our quality of life is when so much of our tax money is going to funding the security of larger nato countries who don’t even take our contributions seriously.
Oui mais là France devient ridicule un état hyper endetté ne peut prétendre à être une puissance militaire. Sous le général de Gaulle durant les années 60 oui ! 😊
Respect for what? By going to war against a country they do it have differences but for the benefit for US hegemony in Europe. What does France have to gain by going to war with Russia other than serve US global interests?
A little clarification: the Griffon and Serval APCs as well as Jaguar armoured recon vehicles targets haven't changed. 1,872 Griffon, 2,038 Serval and 300 Jaguar and 200 modernized Leclerc XLR are all still scheduled to enter service.... just not in 2030 as planned in the 2019-2025 military programming law but in 2035 instead. 1,300 Griffon, 978 Serval, 200 Jaguar and 160 Leclerc XLR are the targets for 2030 now (in the new 2024-2030 military programming law adopted in July 2023). Also, France only bought a few Javelin units as an urgent requirement for service in Afghanistan as the MILAN was getting old and didn't have a fire-and-forget capability. France has developed a new ATGM to replace the MILAN and Javelin, which is already in service since 2018: the Akeron MP. 400 launchers and 3,000 missiles were ordered so far. So that part of the video is a bit misleading but I guess you took the 2017 report, which didn't feature the Akeron yet. A new simpler and less costly system is also under development to complement the state-of-the-art Akeron in order to increase mass (a result of Ukraine feedback).
I can tell after spending 10 years in the french army (land forces) that your analyses and sources are precised and realistic. Nice job. To understand perfectly what are the french forces capabilities, I will quote the army chief of staf, general Burkhard: "french army are like a bonsai tree, very strong rely on theirs roots, well sized and develop to be able to realise any kind of missions, but small!":)
@@tukino9124 c'est pas le but en même temps d'envoyer des français servir de chaire a canon au sol dans une guerre massive. Les pays européens se partagent les compétences. Les pays nordiques ont des tonnes de munition par exemple, la Pologne produit énormement de chars. Nous on brille dans le maritime et surtout dans l'aerien, on a plus du double d'avions de chasse que ce qu'ont le royaume uni par exemple. On brille aussi sur la qualité de nos forces spéciales.
@@bilp_bloup_bot C'est bien mais quand on a affaire à une Europe qui nous aide 0 je pense qu'on pourrait éviter de s'en tenir à " ouais eux ils ont ça pour nous ", non on a toujours été autonome jusqu'à l'arrivée de l'Europe et depuis on a fait que de s'écrouler (on est pas à 0 non plus), on a plus de producteurs d'armes, d'usiner à chars, niveau aviation on est à la ramasse (notre production est dérisoire), on a plus d'Hommes, on est mal quoi Après on pourra toujours chercher des fautifs, nous en 1ère position, et en 2nde nos super copains qui soit ruine les projets soit empêche en quelque sorte nos exportations et donc nos capacités de productions ou même les couts de nos machines et encore d'autres bricoles Par contre faudrait pas nous comparer avec le RU ils sont à la ramasse maintenant, leurs armées est souillées malheureusement pour eux
I know the French get a lot of shit, with jokes about them surrendering and yes, as an American I find them funny but, France has been one of America’s oldest allies and the French are one of the strongest military forces in Europe. They make really great and reliable weapons, and as Cappy mentioned, France is the only European country with its own Nuclear Arsenal and I’m glad we’re on the same side.
France is the only European Union country, not the only European country. It's an important distinction, since the latter includes the UK and...well, Russia.
My experience was the same with both the French and the Brits as a KC-135 boom operator. The French air force would gain air supremacy over Ukraine in less then a month
Has a frenchman myself, I want to thank you for the accuracy , neutrality and non-biased informations of your video. We are pretty used of seeing foreign media undermining our country because of what happened in WW2. Our army was really strong and capable of giving a good fight to the germans but our leaders at the time were idiot and we lost so quickly only because of their stupid defense decision ( I'm not saying we were gonna beat Germany's ass all by ourself but at least we were capable of blocking them for awhile ) So yeah thank you for being a true unbiased journalist 🇫🇷
If France was not powerful enough to defeat Germany by itself, it shouldn't have declared war on Germany (remember, Germany had no interest whatsoever in a war with France). Pétain and others had argued forcefully in the years prior to the war that French military was unprepared for a major European War and major increases in military budget were necessary. What the "Establishment/Zionist" narrative gets wrong (or more accurately, deliberately lies about) is blaming the French Military for the debacle rather than putting blame firmly on the utterly moronic GEOPOLITICAL decisions made by the interwar civilian French Government which of course were compounded by their failure to properly invest in military spending to support that bellicose and foolish policy. The one thing France actually DID get right (which West could certainly learn from today) was exiting the war quickly after the full folly of the previous governments' policies and decisions became apparent. Had the British done the same, the war in the West would have ended in the summer of 1940 and Great Britain and France both would have emerged from the war as Great Powers with their colonial empire in tact rather than suffering the rapid post-war collapse and reversion to de facto client states of the American Empire.
It's not just the fact that French leaders "were idiots". The Germans employed Blitzkrieg tactics. The idea is to outmaneuver the enemies by concentrating your forces at a weak point, thus forcing your opponents to retreat (or they get flanked/surrounded). In order to do this, you need a good coordination between motorized troops, artillery and aircraft. That's where the Germans shined: communications (well-integrated radio's and such). The French military was more motorized than the German military, but some troops still communicated using pigeons (often, French troops even ended up being sitting ducks). Anyhow, this gave the Germans a massive advantage with a huge surprise factor. Another issue was that military leaders weren't used to dealing with Blitzkrieg tactics, thus they had to adapt on the spot/improvise (later on, the tactics were less useful, because other militaries had adapated, both technologically and tactically).
@@ewoudalliet1734 Blitzkrieg is a myth. You should know that. There's a lot of books dealing with this matter. The German were better in radio, indeed, but the loss is more due to French leaders than German abilities to use a concept they never thought about
And how many Frenchman fought on Nazi Germany side? Something like 20,000? 33rd Waffen SS Grenadier Division “Charlemagne”, for example. So, wouldn't be the first time for French siding with Nazi.
@@DonaldDawkins-i9b les allemands nous ont affamé pendant la seconde guerre mondial ! les gens mourraient de faim dans mon pays comme dans toute l'Europe en réalité ! et c'est la gauche qui était au pouvoir à ce moment la qui a capitulé et choisi de faire sortir le maréchal Pétain (héros de guerre, qui avait mis une raclée en terme de stratégie et tactique de combat aux Allemands durant la 1ère guerre mondiale) de sa retraite alors qu'il avait plus de 80 ans pour aller "négocier" avec les allemands (qui le haïssaient et voulaient l'humilier pour ces victoires de la première guerre mondiale), mais quand il a compris l'état dans lequel la population Française se trouvait, il à du se plier aux exigences allemande pour que ceux-ci acceptent enfin de distribuer les stocks de nourriture via les tickets de rationnement pour que l'on arrêtent de mourir de faim et puisse reprendre des forces ! oui on a capitulé, mais on à fait le dos rond, résisté et réussi à trouver des alliés qui nous ont permis de sortir la tête de l'eau et gagner !
@@DonaldDawkins-i9b The french governement yes, but not the French, have you heard of the battle of Bir Hakeim? and the hundred of french pilots in the soviet air force? French Résistance ?
As a german, I'm really glad to see our friends, namely Poland and France, to actually step up. Within germany, it feels like nothing is happening to plan for the future, no matter if thats regarding our demography, geo-political threads or climate change.
Well look who you have been electing for the last few decades, especially in the last election. Not only have you put incompetent idiots in the government, at the same time it made AFD more attractive, cause hey they are right but in comparison to what we have now, beside Söder and a few others, they are pretty much the only reasonable ones.
Things are on track in Germany. Your chancellor is not ready to accept it because of his own old education. But things change anyway. It's just not visible yet. A example: french and german could not agree on how to build a common main battle tank. Talks started as early as during the 80s, and failed. Started again 10 years ago or so, and nothing seems to move. Strangely enough, problems were solved this years, and the deal is signed, a common tank will be build to replace both leopards 2 and leclercs.
Seriously german? Germany prefers buying american aircraft instead of French air craft ? wtf are you talking about? You always ruined every Euro military project if you're involed in it. Germany talk about Step up ? When was your last conflict? 1939? Your main battle tank apporach 50years ! You have no nuclear power. You don't built aircraft or submarines. What are you f*cking talkin about? FFS stop your superiority complex.
Thank you for your kindness. Really, the french don't imagine how hostile other countries are against us. This hate should produce an electro-shock. We know what is called "french bashing" but it's now reaching an alarming threshold.
Le ”french bashing” prend sa source dans l’ignorance mais surtout la jalousie de certains ( anglo saxons la plupart ? ) Je vois bien une fusion des qualités du gripen et du rafale pour créer un avion hors norme issu de la coopération franco suédoise
Very informative analysis. Admittedly, I find it surreal to be watching images of artillery shells and tanks and to be hearing them being talked about in terms of sheer, cold numbers. 1000 per day, 3000 per day etc. I see the reason why it is all treated like that, but whenever such images show up I can't prevent my head from going back to the moments in march 2022 when colleagues of mine and I took care of freshly wounded ukranian soldiers that had been transported to the hospital I have been working in order torelieve overwhelmed hospitals from poland and vicinity. One in particular had an artillery shell explode not far away from him and came with shrapnel in his brain, lungs, abdomen arm and legs, paralized from the neck down, barely stable after the first round of the necessary surgeries had been done as best as they could in ucraine before sending him to us with the helicopter. And that's my point. Each of this shell is potentially a dozen or more lives violently torn apart, dozens of relatives mourning, generations to come deeply scarred in their psyche. It's daunting, depressing and infuriating to think humanity cannot come to a better solution to conflict.
That's why we need to be fully prepared for war so it won't happen. Instead we were weak so Putin saw an opportunity to invade another country. China-Taiwan is next and Pakistan could soon be fighting its neighbours.
France is not preparing! lol, the asshole in our government is an idiot! The country is not going to follow him! We have 3 days of ammunition if we are attacked! The psychopath no longer knows what to do to get noticed
Your thoughts are very noble,I believe all liberal thought to be w/sincere intentions,unfortunately the reality is that EVIL resides in some powerful nation states,consequently they aspire to impose their will through brute force. This requires that just freedom loving democracies must arm themselves w/ghastly weapons of war costing precious resources that could otherwise be spent to uplift society w/more equality in mind.It's unfortunate but tragically necessary when the strength is imposed bluntly to conquer those deemed weak by certain nations for nationalistic,economic, or geographic reasons.
For the love of God please do Germany next, you know the country that went from over 7000 tanks during the same period to less than 300 today. The same country that became absolutely dependent on Russian energy while demanding the US protect them from Russia at the same time. The fifth largest GDP that can not even meet the 2 percent of GDP they agreed to.
@asiancinemabuns8203 you are essentially dismissing the current state of internal politics in Germany in relation to their military. They still have to do that anyway, considering Russia is essentially the very mirror of the former German Empire.
Germany does not require the US to protect us from Russia or anyone else. Its been the geopolitical goal of the UK since 1871 and of the US since 1914, that Russia and germany (and West-europe) stay divided. Oh and by the way, we are the 3rd largest country by GDP. The reason Germanys army declined after 1990 is that the UK (magaret thatcher) and france were scared shitless that the GDR and West-Germany reunite, which is why they demanded that Germany had to reduce their military assets and dispose most of the military equipment. In addition to that you seem to forgot that germany has US nuclear bombs strapped to their planes since the Coldwar, which arent meant to be used on our own merrit, but to protect the US, which made germany always the first strike target during the Coldwar. The US doesnt hold single military base anywhere in the world for "democracy" or "peace", its geopolitical chess to profit the rich, paid with the blood of young american men with honorable intentions. The US is just an empire like the UK used to be or the Roman Empire.
Wait wait wait…. Did you say France had over 1000 battleships in 1991??? I think you might just mean boats in the water and are using the term battleships out of context
Bonjour ; pour une fois que je n'entends pas du "French bashing", cela me fait particulièrement chaud au coeur. Un grand merci donc pour Task & Purpose, d'autant plus que cette video est particulièrement bien documentée et commentée ! BRAVO !
Macron ferait bien de s'occuper de l'ennemi de l'intérieur, la 5ème colonne qui est bien présente en Europe et qui veut notre mort, à nous les mécréants.
I recognize that France sometimes has to tolerate being the focus of some good-natured humor, and its relationship within NATO is rather unique, but I'd rather be fighting beside a French soldier than fighting against one. Vive la France! 🇫🇷
@@itsAlyxx im assuming thats what he meant; he rather not fight, alongside frenchies xD they are currently getting eviscerated by the invasive species pouring in the country anyway, they cant move out to fight a much greater power hahaha
Thank you for this video, and all the work it represents. As a French citizen, I would like to thank you for bringing together all this information, all these documents, all these comments and all these maps. You make things particularly clear. And in my case, your dispassionate and objective approach helps me to put my ideas in order. And hats off to you for putting things into perspective with historical references. Well done.
The French should invest in air forces and especially drone/anti-drone forces, nuclear missiles and the iron dome. They have the savy to defeat Russian nuclear missiles and nuclear war survivability. That ensures it does not start.
Il se fourvoie sur les raisons historiques de la dotation du nucléaire militaire par De Gaulle. De Gaulle pensait qu'après Dien Bien Phu, ou les américains nous ont refusé de l'aide, et les évènements du canal de suez ou les américains nous ont également laché, on ne pourrait faire confiance à cet allié. En résulte la volonté de l'arsenal nucléaire national.
Remarkable quality job! I am a French geopolitical and international affairs journalist, I found your presentation on "Why France is Preparing for War" to be outstanding. My compliments.
The US spends double on healthcare compared to the allies. America could double its military budget and have change left over if its healthcare costs were the same as the allies (from 17%/GDP to 9%/GDP).
@@overworlder US spends a lot more in healthcare because of unfortunate inefficiency of their system. See, in France for example, we have extensive preventive healthcare for free, and very low cost health insurance, most "poor" people don't get too much sick, and therefore costly for the system. US poors on the other hand, take ealthcare only when it's late and costs a lot of money. A virtuous circle vs vicious circle thing
The problem of the US healthcare system is capitalism. US citizens put a lot of money in their system but the citizens are not the ones who get the most advantages from it. A lot of the money is lost with an unefficient administration and with pharmacieutical companies who make the rules of the market. In Europe and France in particular, those companies don't do what they want, especially about prices, because Europe values citizens rights and needs over companies' greed : every year, the French government discuses prices with companies and in the end, the government has the final cut. In concrete terms, it means a box of penicillin vials costs about $200 to a US citizen ; the same box in Europe costs around 15€ ($17) (and companies still make money out of it)... Do the maths... 😉
What!? No! France did not surrender in WW1! It fought like crazy, lost millions of men, led the allied troops and... won the war. Anyway, apart from that mistake (symptomatic of an American mind lol), thanks a lot for this very good research and analysis. Impressive!
The British actually did win the war in the end. They took the brunt of the Spring Offensive and led the 100 days in 1918. They also invented tanks. You guys mutinied in 1917 and were tired of it.
And with similar issues: financial arbitration between nuclear and conventional forces, force reduction, return to a model adapted to high-intensity warfare...
Good to hear that ! When Kamala wins could you send Trump and Johnston to the Hague to be indicted for war crimes ! I understand Lord Cameron told the convicted Felon that if MJ did not release the funds they would be facing more serious charges !
very informative episode. UK citizen here, living in France. I once heard: the French copy no one and no one copies the French. You have to admire the French, they punch above their weight! The country was trashed by WWII, society divided by the Nazi occupation. That Gallic pride and the vision of CDG (which admittedly came with quasi authoritarian aspects of his régime) got this recovering economy from poverty into a powerful place with foundations laid for a home grown industry: nuclear (civil and military), fighter jets which have exported over the world, independent technology like inertial navigation and optics, supercompute capacity which is key for everything these days from cryptography to national defense, elite special forces, civil aviation which has given transport and tanker capabilities, high speed rail, cheap internet, rockets and satellite launchers etc. Which brings us to the French global reach. You mentioned the 60-80's international policy of non alignment (which is not neutrality) which is smart and takes balls. The French kept some allies close and some some controversial enemies closer. Their territories have nickel, uranium and rare metals. The ESA launches from French Guyana efficiently because it's close to the equator. The Algerian desert (when it was French) and South Pacific islands were nuclear testing grounds. Today, Reunion, Djibouti, Polynesia are key stations for global intelligence gathering. Traditionally the French have not been good at soft power, but even that is improving a lot. What are the luxury brands that first come to mind? Hermès, Kering, LVMH, l'Oréal, all French. Ubisoft is French and on and on. The UK is nowhere near France in terms of autonomous, sovereign capacity. Nowhere near.
Nothing Gallic about the French. They like to pretend otherwise. French children are taught that their ancestors were the Gauls, the indigenous people of France. But it's not true. The Gauls were more or less exterminated by the Franks, a Germanic people who invaded France when the Huns invaded their homeland. The French are the Franks. But that makes them invaders and not the original people of the land. So they invent another story that they like better. It's as if the US were to teach children that they are primarily descended from the Cherokee Indians when most of them don't have a single drop of Indian blood.
France’s post WW2 recovery was fueled by its African colonies, which today, STILL suffer the effects of French exploitation via the CFA franc. The country doesn’t deserve this kind of praise.
War is scary, but the glory comes and goes. Throughout history, war hasn't looked like how it does today. Early in African history war was basically just a dick swinging contest where everyone threw spears from a distance before charging in and trying to send the enemy running, it was fairly common for everyone to make it home from a "battle" with some pretty nasty wounds. Later, the Romans saw glory in taking land and valuables to enrich their families and home city. Glory in the riches of war, in the process of conquest. And later after that in the medieval period war was a political tool, the glory in war was showing your loyalty to your Lord, to be an indispensable tool in their political toolkit in exchange for having your home life taken care of (to varying degrees, be it living on the Lords farm or in a fortified castle) Much like everything else these days the glory in war is gone because we're just going through the motions, the average person has no reason to know or care why were going to war and so they only see its horror, and that horror has only grown as weapons have become more lethal than our squishy human bodies can keep up with. War is a horror, but war is a horror we invented. It's not a natural part of humanity, it is nature stretched and distorted to fit our convenience
Love your balanced take on things, in Europe and US. "Our enemies are about to find out why none of us have healthcare." Nearly had me spit out my coffee! Good job. ;-)
*Enemies America created for themselves. Why didn’t they let Russia join NATO in the nineties? Always gotta have a boogieman to keep the masses scared. Russians didn’t consider Americans enemies until they meddled in their affairs- hell they warned the US about Al Qaeda. Most Russians, especially Russo-Americans like myself, still don’t consider the west enemies. Why can’t Americans see through the obvious “Bread and Circuses”? I guess you do you?
Good to know the French point of view and explains much of what's been underpinning their actions over the last few decades. Best regards, from the USA
It's an American view of how France is managing their defence. France doesn't stand alone. their is a whole of the EU, even the UK. The whole of the US (52 states?) invests 4% If we do that as the EU, it's less than our 2% of every EU-state. Thats the whole point, where Trump went wrong. We work together, but retain our independance. Our investments in military investments are at least measuring the US, and we are again investing much, much more... For example Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, and so many other states, not included in this video. We like it that way. ;-)
@@MrXeCute copium. France has its own independent interests. It only wants "strategic autonomy" for the EU and an "EU army" as long as France is in the leading role.
suivant le traité de L' Aukus les Britanniques sont égales a eux mêmes comme en mai 1940 le réembarquement des soi disant soldats professionnels anglais et le désastre de Dunkerque : Courage fuyons en Angleterre . ensuite le fameux Brexit en 1960 les britanniques font des pieds et des mains en suppliants les français et allemands pour rentrer dans le marché commun sauf que le Général De Gaulles ne voulait pas des anglais après sa morts ils rentrent dans l'union européenne . puis en sortent car ils n'ont pas obtenu ce qu'ils voulaient . boris Jonhson le caniche de Washington saborde le contrat des sous marins australiens le contrat ayant été signer les australien perde 54 milliards de dollars qui revient a l'entreprise française . Le Maréchal Français Ney disait des anglais qu'ils ne connaissaient pad l'honneur et c'est vrai il ne faut jamais avoir confiance aux britanniques
You miss the point. They were annoyed, because Australia cancelled a contract to deliver submarines to OZ and because the perfidious albion did not tell them about the negotiations between the US, the UK and OZ to form the Aukus deal.
As they should, I just hope this is not to prop up their neo-colonial project, though. Let actual goodwill come to France by exposing the duplicity of Russian imperial aspirations in their countries.
@@EarthForces It's literally to prop up their neo-colonial project since most African countries rebuked efforts of France to provide assistance in exchange for access to African resources.
@@EarthForcesFrance has been the biggest imperial influence in Africa. They are literally gearing up to cause chaos specifically in the Sahel region in Africa. They were freeloading on resources there and it’s been cut. Now they want war!
Peeling Africa away from the CFA franc and France away from the resources and monetary dominance of that region is absolutely something they will fight over
@Taskandpurpose it's not hard to just automatically assume France didn't surrendered again. Do you know how many French men it takes to defend paris? Nobody knows, it's never been done before
Excellent and objective analysis, without French bashing! France needs more mass and independence. Its military history has always influenced the whole world, it must continue to be a power of peace and inspire fear. Because si vis pacem, parabellum.
@@Zechariah_Mathieson1871He means that France should start producing more equipment, we have quality but not quantity for high intensity warfare. French army is suited to expeditions (like in Africa), not high intensity warfare like what we see in Ukraine.
@@HustleMuscleGhiasRetourne dans les livres d'histoire mon grand tu apprendra que la France et le pays qui a remporté le plus de bataille dans l'histoire 😘
@@HustleMuscleGhias Car tu n'as pas d'arguments, mon pays a ses défaut comme tout autres États mais ça ne sert à rien de dire des choses aussi grotesques sans avoir ouvert un livre d'histoire, des bisous de France 😘
France never fell in WW2. Once the metropolitan territory occupy (by the way, they distorted during the Battle of France half of German equipment and save UK whose the government was collapsing before the coming of Churchill), France continued war in African front, then landed in Italy and did the major fight since all the advance of allies were only made by the French (CEFI of French General Juin (112 000 French soldiers / 300 000 total ally soldiers). Then French Army landed in France and on the 500 000 soldiers involved, 300 000 were French and there were above it about 500 000 resistant inside France 1942-1944). France had the second biggest army of western front and just in Germany, sent 1 300 000 French soldiers (American soldiers were 1 500 000). Even Clark and Patton themselves (American Genrals) said that they totally needed the French, especially, general Leclerc, de Lattre and Juin.
Oh dear that is so desperately wrong ! The Germans defeated you and without GB the Dominion states and USA you would still be eating Bratwurst and Kartoffel on the Champs Elyse's
@@petertlusty3343 France lost the battle of France in 1940 because of incompetant leadership and useless governement that was not far away from collapsing, but still we saved the entire British expeditionary forces at Dunkerque while being encircled , outnumbered and under equiped but still not letting the German pass. "These Frenchmen, under the gallant leadership of general Molinié have for four days stopped 7 germans divsions which otherwise would have joined the assault on the Dunkerque perimeter. This was a splendid contribution to the escape of their more fortnate comrade of the British expeditionary forces." -Winston churchill "Despite our overwhelming superiority in men and hardware number, the French are counter attacking in several places, I do not understand how those brave Frenchmen are finding the strenght to launch their assault, while being outnumbered 1 to 10. This is simply amazing. I see in those French men the same determination as the veteran of Verdun in 1916 . For several days now the French defence has been bombed by hundreds of bombers but it s always the same. Our infantry and panzers just cant break through. I fear that Dunkerque could be a failur for us as almost all the BEF will escape because of a few thouasnds brave French blockings us the path to sea. That's it , Dunkirque brings the proof that the French soldier is one of the best in the world and the French artillery proves once again it efficiency. Our losses are terryfing, numerouns bataillons lost more than 60%of their men. By resisting more than 10 days, those brave Frenchmen have certainly saved Great Britain from defeat." -Georg von Kuchler , General of the XVIII Wehrmacht army. Yet even after that the French that refused Petain s surrender and betreyal joined De Gaulle as the Free French , starting in north africa and winning even more battles and being extremelly important like at bir hakeim where 3700 Free Frenches defeated more than 40000 Germans and italians and once again even Rommel admited we were the best soldiers in the world at the time. And the Resistance too that helped by sabotaging the Germans until the liberation and making the d day possible by tricking the Germans in making them think it would happend somewhere else. And then the liberation where the Free Frenches , British , Americans and others liberated France and then more than half a million French took part in the Final victory over the Germans. But it s true that if in 1940 The governement and high command wasnt so useless the Germans would have been crushed way before. They should have done that in 1936 already when the Germans remilitarized the Rhineland but still even after that we still won the war and were one of the biggest reason why the Allies won too. By destroying most of the German army in 1940 which helped Britain with the battle of Britain in the air, By saving their entire Expeditionary force at Dunkerque , By being one of the principal power of the allies through all of the war even after 1940. But it came at a cost, the lives of hundred of thousands of Brave Frenchmen but for what. To be called cowards by people on the internet that literally dont know anything about history??
@@Celebaguette our expeditionary force wouldnt have had to be there so soon if the french had stopped the nazis where they should have in the first place,the battle of britain was nothing to do with the french really it was the skill and bravery of the royal air force that continually beat back the huge number of lufftwaffe planes,many polish pilots helped the RAF also
@@raunoraiha752 I don't understand ? that is what I am saying ? France did not surrender... They won the First World War ! Millions of French soldiers died and hundreds of thousands were mutilated...
During truly peaceful times having a large military is a waste of valuable resources. During dangerous times, not having a strong military is an unbearable risk. It is a dilemma. But if you are able to see the signs ahead of time then you will be able to re-arm before you need it.
I wouldn't be so confident that rearming before you need the weapons is manageable. Procurement times for a lot of military equipment are incredibly long. Like, 4 or 5 years would be fairly quick.
@@austinfournier5445And therein lies the dilemma. If it was easy and quick to ramp up, then there wouldn't be a dilemma. The issue is spotting the need for the ramp up years or a decade in advance of needing it. Not an easy feat. In the case of Ukraine, the warning sign was when Russia took Crimea.
Having a large military in peaceful times isn't necessarily a waste of resources considering that military superpower tends to keep things peaceful, at least for the country with the power (and to allies to some extent.) It is wild how much we so spend on weapons and shit. But so many of everyday inventions were invented during wars. Our inventors seem to be at their most creative during times of was and/or it is when they have their projects financed, the money no matter. Weird fact is how lighters existed before matches. Believe matched were made for war... just like Spam. But way more important things I cannot list off the top of my head.
The classic economic phrase is “guns and butter”, when discussing domestic and foreign spending. This video was well made. Thanks for the historical asides. Thanks for all the effort into making this video.
First video I've watched from this channel and I just want to say how incredibly well laid out this all was and easily digestible for somebody eager to learn about the conflict in Europe! Appreciate the hard work that goes into learning all of this - subscribed!
if you want to learn about the conflict in europe, its quite easy: the governments are lead by a global elite that earns their wealth with war and the extraction of tax money into private pockets.
Russia didn’t “Invade” Ukraine..The CIA did back in 2008..Then The E.U/U.N./Obama-Bush D,C, Globalist Swamp Fomented a color revolution, installed a puppet and Violated the Minsk accord….. Russia is Fighting the Good Fight. I am an American And Even I can See this!.
@@jon3mi3s "Slaved countries", Do you know that sub-saharan Africa represents less than 2 % of French foreign trade ? When we take only the former French colonies (it would be strange to consider that Nigeria or South Africa are stolen by French due to non-existent historical ties), it's around one percent ? French just really don't care about some backwards countries, it's nice for them to say that they have a "pre carre" (influence zone) but they will easily survive without.
As a French speaker and follower of French policy, I think that this is one of your best pieces I've seen. Extremely well researched, analyzed and synthesized. Excellent, merci. Btw, I largely agree with the strategic autonomy approach--Europe needs to be able to stand on its own feet, and, as an American, will only increase and strengthen of the trans-Atlantic relationship.
From your perspective, is France thinking Russia will expand to them after Ukraine, or is there some other due being lit pushing France into this fight?
@@thomast6741 France is likely envisioning increasing volatility in Russia, that could lead it towards a brinkmanship approach, especially if the US becomes less engaged, supportive, or become distracted, for example with China. Russia might be deficient conventionally but it's nuclear arsenal could leverage that gap quite easily. As such even a modest nuclear arsenal from France could impose enough costs for Rus to think twice.
@@thomast6741they want to shut down the potential of that and Russia is actively fighting France in north Western Africa. There’s a level of deniability since it’s Wagner and the foreign legion, but still. France kept their former colonies close and Russia is trying to tear the resource rich portions away from French influence
Peeps the only reason France cares is because Russia is wrecking them in Africa. All the exploitation France has been able to do in Africa have come under threat. They now want to play the part of a brave saviour and have other states solve their problem There are no good people or states, just people and states looking out for their own interest
That was nice having an external view. I think our lack of focus on ground forces is because to reach France, you need to step on a whole lot of countries with an already much larger ground force, like Poland. Investing in what other countries in the EU don't have should be the goal. For any incoming invasion (from Russia), what France will offer against the first strike to our allies is exactly what we are investing into.
Russia hasn't been able to fully capture a single Ukrainian province in two years. Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe, by the way. How will Russia conquer 30 NATO states?
@@dmitrimikrioukov5935 If the US were busy fighting a hot war with china and/or Trump abandoned europe, the overall picture would be much more dire. We'd be running out of ammo in days and have almost no equipment reserves to speak of. Everything was designed with the americans quickly jumping in with a galore of troops and equipment in mind. There was a joke in Bundeswehr circles stating we're just there to delay the russian advance until the real army would show up. Even the AWACS aircraft are owned by the US, we dont have much in this area.
@@yves2932 You must be kidding. Conquering Germany in days and not a single Ukrainian province in 2 years. This very idea must be insulting to Germans. Even now Germany has a far bigger military budget than Ukraine and a far more powerful defence industry. I knew a retired Soviet officer, and he told me they knew the toughest NATO army was German. Next came the Brits. Americans were sissies with expensive but useless weapons.
@@ld8682 not against you but you may see (in thoose comments) that some people proclaimed that, based on 1 war while their own countrie were looking and tryng to make benefits
Disagree, while I love the content and quality, I also love Cappy's corny jokes. A few jokes sprinkled in here and there can really break up the monotone of the factoids.
@@michaelhelbrow7906 it is intresting you say that. Do you have evidence to back it up? I was not aware of this. If it is the case then the billions a year of taxpayers money was not void on the upkeep of this and perhaps even a strategy by the British to appear weak in an attempt to jabait the Russians into doing a preemptive strike. I really would not put it past them. They are as crafty as the Japanese in terms of deception. Regardless big respect to France for taking this realtime geopolitcal shift seriously. Trumps statement on NATO is seeing it barefruit it seems.
An excellent review of French military planning. When thought of from France's geo/pol needs their plans make a lot of sense! When you consider how fickle the democracies are in times of international stress not having to rely on "the other guy" is only prudent. On a side note, watching the growth in this channel's coverage has been a real joy to behold. Keep up the great work!
Excellent review. Unlike many of France's shaky EU neighbours, France has taken to heart the notiion of "if you want peace, prepare for war". And France was smart enough to avoid being overly dependent on potential enemies like Russia or China and unreliable friends like Saudi Arabia or the USA (under Trump).
We were so criticized for not being ready before the WWII so i believe it’s important to prepare for the worst, even if we obviously don’t want to: "Si vis pacem, para bellum" Thank you for your very thorough and serious analysis. 🇨🇵
France gets a lot flak for thier surrender at the start of WW2. They had the numbers and and in some cases better equipment than the Germans. I don't feel as though it was the individual French soldier that failed but more blame lies on the politicians for not being ready and militarily leadership for bad strategy. It is my personal belief that had the French army fallen back and regrouped they may at the very least have stalled the Germans until the British could reorganize thier army after the evacuation at Dunkirk. ( Can't say with 100% certainty they would of been able to do that in time.)
En fait on était prêt militairement parlant, contrairement à la croyance populaire, le Front Populaire a augmenté la production militaire et les 40h étaient faites de plusieurs dérogations dans le domaine militaire, en 1936 le Front Populaire lance un programme de 14 milliards pour le réarmement. La défaite de 1940 est surtout due à des erreurs stratégiques monumentales (le gros de nos troupes qui se retrouvent encerclées dans le Nord et en Belgique).
@@elmiroelmiro9927 tkt je suis fan d'histoire surtout de la seconde guerre mondiale donc a chaque fois que je vois une erreur je me sens obligé de corriger 😅
@@edouardescPour compléter : la fatale erreur de l’Etat major français a été de laisser une partie de la ligne Maginot mal défendue (Sedan) en prenant pour acquis le fait que les allemands ne pourraient pas traverser le massif des Ardennes. Sauf qu’ils l’ont fait. C’était déjà trop tard une fois la percée de Sedan réalisée.
First class presentation that includes the importance of context with respect to the French world view. Also, indirectly points to a core feature in the character of America's oldest allay, namely the expectation that in matters that matter there should be rigor of thought & finetuned debate
Alot of comments here highly underestimates the modern French military force. And yet, at the same time, the same people praise the Legion as one of the most impressive forces. Kinda crazy huh
Lmao please french army for 3 ðays ran out of bombs to bomb lybia and asked US to do its job. Now lost to niger, mali and hurkina faso. A joke of a small army not able to do high intensity warfare
@@alexnderrrthewoke4479 Oh yeah they lost huh. Did they lose like the US lost to vietnam where they lost 58 thousand men to their 800 thousands? You guys dont understand modern warfare and think in binary.
French guy here, that was quite an interesting video ! I have to tell that you presented a pretty complete aspect of the picture here even though you’re a missing few important points in your analysis: -You presented France only through mainland France but the French territory is also composed of many overseas territories across the globe ( in the Caribbean, South America, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean mainly ) which actually stretch quite significantly the surface of the globe France has to extend its military presence. To give you a sense of scale, despite being the 41th largest country in landmass, it actually has the second largest EEZ after the US (exclusive economic zone, basically the surface of the ocean that belong to a country) And all of this with a budget approximately 15 times smaller than the US military. Thus the France as to make pretty big concessions when it comes to its military capacities. -The French notion of “strategic independence“ was and is still based on independence in regard to the adversaries but also towards the US. Since the end of WWII the French military strategy has put strong emphasis on being able to being able to act independently from the US. The American “imperialism” is something the French has always been very suspicious about. Gaining our independence security wise from the US was one of the main driver in the development of our atomic program in the 50’s. This is also one of the main driver for France choosing quality over quantity, and thus investing in innovation and its military industrial complex: it is absolutely unthinkable for us, French, to have condition imposed on how to use our armement ( which is the case for most US imported armement ). And on a personal side, I think there is also cultural and historical reason to that, before WWII and for most of its history France has been a global player, therefore there is still a strong belief in French culture that France has to be able to act independently. -The US potential disengagement from Europe and the eventuality of a second Trump mandate make the Europeans kinda freak out about having Putin a their door. The French will to rearm is very much connected to a larger trend in the EU. But appart few imprecisions ( France actually won WWI alongside the fellow Brits and incidentally the US lol, or 24:06 those howitzer are not the CEASAR ) and a pretty heavy US bias on the way to present the situation, that was an very complete video ! Maybe you could’ve completed it with a bit more comparison with other countries, to give a sense of scale for some of the figures that you present. It’s often hard to picture the scale of any figure about the military world for a civilian !
To add on this, the French desire to maintain its own independent military capacity is notably one of the reason why no US military bases were installed in France after WWII
With the thought of another nationalist Trump administration, I believe it will be up to France to ensure the security of the EU and spearhead the security of global trade. 🇫🇷
A second Trump Presidency is not inevitable . As a matter of fact, Biden is gaining on him. Both due to increased inroads by Biden and decline of Trump due to ongoing criminal trials and clear evidence he is not as rich as he claimed.
Interesting video Chris but I think you need to check some of this, as the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 so I'm pretty sure the height of the cold was not 1991 to 1992. Also 222 battleships and 254 frigates.
The Berlin Wall was a mostly meaningless symbol....... Berlin was completely in East Germany. There was absolutely no reason for the "Berlin Wall" to ever exist. It was a symbol of the cold war but served no actual purpose.
Another excellent piece Cappy, but one small point of order, a slip of the tongue I expect. France never surrendered in WW1, they fought, and bled, like lions to preserve their country. Historically there is a fairly consistent strain of French military prowess on the continent (except against the English ; ). But yes, the Franco-Prussian and Second World Wars does tend to leave a false impression of the longer, rather impressive, record. I mean, hey, folks throw shade at Italy aka the Roman and the Venetian empires. Anyway, cheers, and well done. Perilous times.
Yeah but to what end? Just to have French identity turned into a neo-liberal dystopian tumblr buzzword definition or migrants rioting in the streets and causing civil disorder and decay.
But WW2 they not only surrendered they sold out their allies... and fought against them. so if they want to go suck on Zeliski they are welcome to it, I thing the US should let France handle it all and solve the invasion of the USA from south america
though historically speaking, why have the English been so consistently remained as, for lack of a better term, a kryptonite for the french? like yeah France has had successes against them, but the vast majority of the time, the English have held the upper hand?
Do you mean that your ennemies will find out how US corrupt politicians will never let Americans have a decent social safenet to please their CEO friends ? Am not sure it would deter your ennemies, mate ...
Good work and relatively well analyzed. You have forgotten a major fact: the French army is an operational army, an army "used" in war, expeditionary wars certainly, but real wars nonetheless. This means that French soldiers have experience of war. They are the only ones in the EU. Note a few small errors: Souveraineté is not "old French". It's present and usual French. And by the way 'autonomy" comes from French "autonomie". And yes, conscription is a French word, like almost 90% of english military vocabulary ... France was (by far) the main contributor to the victory of WWI (1.5M killed and 4M injured, out of a population of 44M at the time) Less than 7% of French consumed energy was coming from Russia (not 17%).
@@timjones1583 LOL. France fought during WWII, and then in Indochina and Algeria. Wars are something cultural in the French History. You should know that 95% of the current military words are from french language. Armée-Army Division-Division Régiment-Regiment Artillerie-Artilery Corps d'armée- Army Corps. Fusillers Marins- Marines (not Navy Infantry). Etc.
@@timjones1583 WW2 well within last 100 years and I think both Algeria and Vietnam would also disagree about their wars with the French not being real wars
WOW!!! I really enjoyed that one Cappy, well done mate! I REALLY REALLY wish you'd do one on Canada 🇨🇦. It may help if you could really do a deep dive into how small and ill equipped we've become. Also exposing how small and under performing oue defence industry is couldn't hurt. Keep up the AWESOME work you do, and thanks from an Ex-Canadian soldier, Cheers-JHW
Our army needs a major revamp...but our politicians both federal and provincial governments have lost pride to support each other (citizens) on common issues......
Wow! I watch all of Cappy's videos, but this might be one of the best. Great flow, easy to understand. Causal relations between geopolitical status of france and their defense budget make so much sense.
Well, this is more of a general military channel. For a military budget-focussed channel I recommend Perun, he's so good his UA-cam channel has even been referenced in the Australian Parliament. He actually works as a weapons procurement analyst. @@TobyLawnjockey
Very nice and surprising to see an american infantry-man give such a balanced view of the french history and military! Great job, even though, as a German, I disagree with you on serveral points!
I stumbled across video- I learned so much! Thank you for putting in the serious time & effort to research ALL of this. Then, excellent delivery and supporting graphics. I just subscribed. Cheers!
Immersed in both cultures (Star & Stripes flag and Drapeau Tricolore). Grandpa being a young man conscripted during WWII and grandmother a young French woman who took care of him while he was wounded. I would like to emphasize the accuracy of this video. Great job done. France's awakening to the delay in military modernization, allows me to say that I now have two pairs … 😊 One on each side of the pond. God bless both of my countries and the free world of democracy.
Not accurate overall in the slightest. This video pretends the conflict began in Feb 2022, implying Putin just woke up one day and decided to invade a country.
I thought the west has spent the last 7 decades and countless of dollars or euros or francs modernizing their militaries lol,mind u whether or not there is creative account,it doesn't change the fact that most western countries military spending far outstrips any second or third world country by leagues Take Gaza for example,Israel has dropped nearly 65,000 tonnes of bombs in the first 4 months......do u think gazans even possess anything near that kind of firepower?
@Booz2010 les usa? Le pays ou les femmes ne sont pas libres d'avorter? le pays qui a un taux de mortalité infantile plus élevé que la France? Le pays qui a une espérance de vie inférieur à la France? le pays qui mélange pouvoir et religion, au point que certains états comme le Texas n'ont rien à envier à l'Iran? lol
Very astute observations about France. And critics of France should remember that the French have one of the most refined military industrial complexes in the world.
Yeah they 100 tank and two brigade of untrained forces mwith 2000 monthly shell will surely challenge russia on the battlefield. Russia produces more artillery shells in 30 minutes than France in a month. France is like a crocodile. Big mouth, small arms.
@@srijanme . For what reasons do many German generals and soldiers pay tribute to the heroic resistance of French troops in May-June 1940? General Rommel: “The French units fought with a remarkable spirit of sacrifice, causing us heavy losses. The French counterattacks were repulsed with difficulty.“ The German general von Kielmansegg, a young captain in 1940, wrote: “The Montcornet crossroads represented an obligatory passage for the resupply of several of our divisions, as well as an important rear connection line. The assault was directed exactly at the nerve center, where part of the headquarters of Guderian's armored corps and the logistical elements of the 1st Panzer Division were established. We did not expect such a bold attack from our flanks. The armored assault on Montcornet was, during the entire western campaign, the only perfectly appropriate French counterattack in terms of time, place and direction.“ On the German side, the spokesperson for the LVIe DI reports: “Fighting in the dunes, in deep sand, under terrible heat, requires an enormous effort. French troops occupy high dunes from where they can direct their artillery fire. The French soldiers fight with incredible heroism. Our tired infantry no longer advances, although 33 artillery batteries support the attack of the CLXXIe RI. The assault advances very slowly. Sand, unbearable heat, lack of water. The fighters and staff were very tired and at midday, the colonel commanding the 171st RI announced that he must give up continuing the attack, facing the fierce resistance of the brave French soldiers.“ On the German side, General Georg von Küchler commands the 18th Army of the Wehrmacht, entirely engaged against the Dunkirk pocket. In his war diary, this high-ranking officer salutes the valiant resistance of the French troops.“ Despite our overwhelming numerical and material superiority, French troops counterattacked in several places. I cannot understand how such valiant soldiers, fighting in various places one against ten (sometimes even one against thirty), still manage to find enough strength to attack: it is simply astonishing. ! I found among the French soldiers of Dunkirk the same enthusiasm as that of the poilus of Verdun in 1916. For several days, hundreds of bombers and cannons have been pounding the French defenses. However, it's always the same thing, our infantry and our tanks cannot break through, despite some fleeting local successes. The French command very skillfully installed its troops and artillery. I fear that Dunkirk will be a failure for us: almost the entire British expeditionary force and most of the French 1st Army will escape us, because a few thousand brave men are blocking our access to the sea. It's appalling , but that’s how it is.“ Dunkirk provides me with proof that the French soldier is one of the best in the world. French artillery, so feared in 14-18, once again demonstrated its formidable effectiveness. Our losses are terrifying: many battalions have lost 60% of their troops, sometimes even more! “ By resisting for around ten days our forces, which were clearly superior in numbers and means, the French army accomplished, at Dunkirk, a superb feat which should be saluted. She certainly saved Britain from defeat, by allowing her professional army to reach English shores. The admirable tenacity of the French who, despite the losses suffered, did not give up an inch of ground, meant that the fight remained indecisive and that General Hoepner continued to ignore where the bulk of the enemy's armored forces were located, writes the colonel German Neuman. » German Colonel von Hippel, whose DCA had its day of glory that day, testified in favor of the bravery of the enemy pilots: “Without stopping, with remarkable courage, the French Potez and Morane came to attack their objective; they fly at low altitude with great audacity. Because it takes guts and audacity to dive so close to this hell that our anti-aircraft guns unleash. But the French know well what it means to destroy this bridge. They don't succeed. (…) At the last second, the pilot jumped from the plane and passed 5 meters above a tank which was crossing the bridge. Not far from there, he sank in the Meuse and never resurfaced. » The French are fighting with a vigor that leaves my soldiers stunned and furious,” recognizes German General Ke
This is slightly tangental but there's a web site called 'the real size of' or something like that where you can drag countries from where they are on the normal mercator map we're all used to and drop them over the USA or Europe for instance to get an idea of their real size. A lot of countries that seem pretty small are half the size or Europe when properly sized. It gives you an idea of the areas you're talking about when looking at say Algeria, or Sudan, or Iran. It give you an appreciation for why 1,000 troops dropped into some of these countries might not be able to control the entire country when you realise it's actually the size of France. The Mercator Projection gives a very inaccurate idea of how the world actually is and we have that impression pretty much built in.
@@mitch1230 What? Do you really know how far that is? I live near the Czech border and not worried about the war. It would take me 18 hours by car to get to Kiev.
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yooooooo 🎉
6:10 It's MICHEL not michael Goya 😭
Ww1 French didn't surrender ?
The battleship number are not right ?
You've made a small mistake. The rafale are only stationed at 3 airbases in france...
Does this life insurance pay out in the event I get vaporized the nuclear war Macron is trying to drag us into?
🇫🇷🇺🇸🇺🇦
France is not investing into tanks and land troops, because that's where Germany and Poland are investing. France role in a war where the EU is fighting alone would be nuclear deterrence, providing 1 carrier strike group (realistically for use in the Atlantic or North Sea) and keep trade line open with the UK and the US.
Italy would focus on securing the Med (and as you can see, Italy is investing most of its resources on the Navy, keeping 2 "carriers" capable of launching F35B) and Germany and Poland would be the one providing the bulk of tanks (Germany) and mechanized infantry (Poland will have one if the largest mobile infantry corps in the world in a couple of years time) for the main front.
It's the first time I'm aware of where European nations are preparing to fight against a foreign enemy and splitting the roles so clearly.
And Finland would provide Artillery and Sweden Airforce
Where did you get this info? Thanks.
@@t-dawg894it's all very public information actually. I don't have a single source to point out, but for example, look at new military vehicles under development: Poland is putting a lot of effort into IFVs (also look at the announced numbers...), Rheinmetall is developing a new Leopard III (yes, it's a private venture, but they are not stupid, they must have some ideas on where the increased military spending announced by the German government will go before embarking into a private venture on something nobody in the west did for 40 years, a brand new tank...). France is targeting production of a new carrier soon (let's be honest, the CdG wasn't exaclty a success...), and Italy has just replaced Garibaldi (that was comically small and very obsolete) with the brand new Trieste and both project required and will require a lot of money to be combat capable and have enough aircrafts to be useful. most likely, cut will be done elsewhere (and the fact that both countries have undewhelming tank forces and no plan to improve the situation is very telling). You clearly see a pattern there if you put all the info together. most EU nations are putting more resources into one branch or the other, and my guess is that there is a reason and it's not just rolling the dices.
Nailed it!
@@Forien Realistically nordics would mostly provide femboys. Lets be real for a minute, you guys sure are cute, but you weight nothing in the grand scheme of things
That Napoleon movie got France all riled up 😂
What’s the saying, History repeats its rhymes ?
It was terrible, sadly. Scott simply forgot that its not Avatar 3 but real story of real person. Such an opportunity wasted.
Nah the Frenchmen has an unquenchable thirst for “la gloire”
@@Taskandpurpose “History Doesn't Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes” - Mark Twain
Um... France didn't surrender in World War One. They DID get their @$$€$ handed to them in the Franco-Prussian War, and were eager for a re-match, which we know as World War One. That re-match didn't exactly follow the French script, shall we say, but they didn't surrender.
That was so long ago, nobody cares.
Well, in the end France litteraly was the big winner of World War One, and forced Germany into surrendering by kicking their asses on the Western Front and its allies’ asses, Bulgaria and the Austro-Hungarian empire on the southern front.
I noticed you didn’t mention how quick you folded in WW2 😂
@@based8223 Well you should, history is important for anyone who isn't a gibbering moron.
Not really true, France did not expect to be attacked in World war One and Germany did not want to attack them either. Austria Hungary having failled to provide protection for their Prince believed it had full support from Germany to back up their aggressiveness against Serbia and the Russians believed they'd not been aggressive enough in previous disputes so mobilised. Because of German success in getting the army into the field first in the Franco Prussian war and the victory Germany believed if the Russians got in the field before them they'd loose, they even asked the British to get the Russians to stop mobilising, when the Russians didn't stop mobilising the Germans did and then believing they'd end up in a 2 front war decided to attack france first and knock them out (prewar strategists believed any future war would be highly destructive mobile and short as the desructiveness of modern weapons - artilery shells and machine guns meant that any defences would be destroyed. Obviously this was not the case in the West and you ended up with a static war, on the Eastern front though the war was highly mobile. Germany was only defeated on the western front because they were forced (by immient arrival of more US forces) to attack from their prepared positions into open fields.
"France has been historically important in the region" - understatement of the year. France has been a super power for around 1000 years.
He really said that? Wtf? France is one of the only countries that if it would have never existed, the world would be radically different and certainly less advanced.
But coming from an american, it didn’t surprise me.
Сверх держава франция которой 1000 лет. На этом моменте понятно, хз, эьо недостаток образования в целом на западе? Что такое сверх держава? Их всего было 2 в истории. И обе в 20ом веке и обе НЕ ФРАНЦИЯ. готовятся к войне, за пол года подготовились к какой войне? Началась уже? Или за пол года франция сбежала из Африки не может продать самолётов? Какую конченую чушь несёт автор видео.
@@ИванИванов-ф7д4н Revoyez vos cours d'histoire. Il y a 150 - 200 ans la France et l'Angleterre se partageaient 70% de la planète. Sans l'aide de la France les USA n'auraient peut-être jamais été indépendants.
@@ИванИванов-ф7д4нbefore the 20th century and even at the beginning of it. The 2 super power of the world were France and uk… silly russian
Yes but since WW2 we are nothing more but dead cheese.
Both world wars fck up Europe in my oignon
The French and the polish are the only ones who accept that the Americans won’t paytheir defense bills forever and took matters into their own hands. I respect that a lot. Edit: what a lively thread. Didn’t think there would be this much engagement. I should’ve written this better. When I say “only ones” I mean out of the heavyweight economies in Europe. Plenty of the smaller nations especially in Eastern Europe definitely take their security seriously. We love you guys across the pond. It’s why we help. We just grow tried of being told how inferior our quality of life is when so much of our tax money is going to funding the security of larger nato countries who don’t even take our contributions seriously.
Meanwhile you expect Europe to pay for your federal budget.
Oui mais là France devient ridicule un état hyper endetté ne peut prétendre à être une puissance militaire. Sous le général de Gaulle durant les années 60 oui ! 😊
@@christianterraes8334ah les excuses pour simplement suivre et reagir et encore perdre sera la resultante Et arrive les russes
@bigolboomerbelly4348 Who the heck in Europe or anywhere else in the world is sending aid to America?
Respect for what? By going to war against a country they do it have differences but for the benefit for US hegemony in Europe. What does France have to gain by going to war with Russia other than serve US global interests?
As a French citizen and quite aware of what’s been going on with our army I can tell this video is pretty accurate and extensive. Well done. 👍
Like President Brandon, you guys need to vote this guy out.
Fight for the farmers instead.
@@Jimmy-qb1xr could not agree more
Much respect and gratitude - from a Swede.
I hope my country will reciprocate and in proportionality do even more.
@@Sharpie1111100😂😂😂 Belly laughing. 100% accurate.
A little clarification: the Griffon and Serval APCs as well as Jaguar armoured recon vehicles targets haven't changed. 1,872 Griffon, 2,038 Serval and 300 Jaguar and 200 modernized Leclerc XLR are all still scheduled to enter service.... just not in 2030 as planned in the 2019-2025 military programming law but in 2035 instead. 1,300 Griffon, 978 Serval, 200 Jaguar and 160 Leclerc XLR are the targets for 2030 now (in the new 2024-2030 military programming law adopted in July 2023).
Also, France only bought a few Javelin units as an urgent requirement for service in Afghanistan as the MILAN was getting old and didn't have a fire-and-forget capability. France has developed a new ATGM to replace the MILAN and Javelin, which is already in service since 2018: the Akeron MP. 400 launchers and 3,000 missiles were ordered so far. So that part of the video is a bit misleading but I guess you took the 2017 report, which didn't feature the Akeron yet. A new simpler and less costly system is also under development to complement the state-of-the-art Akeron in order to increase mass (a result of Ukraine feedback).
Oh that’s cray cray I saw it listed as on the chopping block , I stand corrected then! Thank you for the clarification
On produit peux mais de la bonne qualité mon ami
I can tell after spending 10 years in the french army (land forces) that your analyses and sources are precised and realistic. Nice job.
To understand perfectly what are the french forces capabilities, I will quote the army chief of staf, general Burkhard: "french army are like a bonsai tree, very strong rely on theirs roots, well sized and develop to be able to realise any kind of missions, but small!":)
One problem. What happens when your ally of today becomes your enemy of tomorrow? Now they have the tanks against your land units.
je te crois pas si tu nous dis qu'on a un stock de munitions pour tenir 30 minutes
@@tukino9124 c'est pas le but en même temps d'envoyer des français servir de chaire a canon au sol dans une guerre massive. Les pays européens se partagent les compétences. Les pays nordiques ont des tonnes de munition par exemple, la Pologne produit énormement de chars. Nous on brille dans le maritime et surtout dans l'aerien, on a plus du double d'avions de chasse que ce qu'ont le royaume uni par exemple. On brille aussi sur la qualité de nos forces spéciales.
@@bilp_bloup_bot C'est bien mais quand on a affaire à une Europe qui nous aide 0 je pense qu'on pourrait éviter de s'en tenir à " ouais eux ils ont ça pour nous ", non on a toujours été autonome jusqu'à l'arrivée de l'Europe et depuis on a fait que de s'écrouler (on est pas à 0 non plus), on a plus de producteurs d'armes, d'usiner à chars, niveau aviation on est à la ramasse (notre production est dérisoire), on a plus d'Hommes, on est mal quoi
Après on pourra toujours chercher des fautifs, nous en 1ère position, et en 2nde nos super copains qui soit ruine les projets soit empêche en quelque sorte nos exportations et donc nos capacités de productions ou même les couts de nos machines et encore d'autres bricoles
Par contre faudrait pas nous comparer avec le RU ils sont à la ramasse maintenant, leurs armées est souillées malheureusement pour eux
I know the French get a lot of shit, with jokes about them surrendering and yes, as an American I find them funny but, France has been one of America’s oldest allies and the French are one of the strongest military forces in Europe. They make really great and reliable weapons, and as Cappy mentioned, France is the only European country with its own Nuclear Arsenal and I’m glad we’re on the same side.
France has the strongest army in Europe. The UK has its own nuclear arsenal too afaik
Obviously you never served in OEF or OIF….
France surrendered in WW2, that’s it. No clue where this idea came from that they are weak militarily.
@@aleale6277always gotta one up each other, it seems. I guess some things never change.
France is the only European Union country, not the only European country. It's an important distinction, since the latter includes the UK and...well, Russia.
I flew with the French Air Force during a lengthy deployment, and found them both highly skilled and intellectually impressive.
My experience was the same with both the French and the Brits as a KC-135 boom operator. The French air force would gain air supremacy over Ukraine in less then a month
@@donaldshotts4429 They also got all the women.. at least when the Italian Air Force guys weren’t around.
@@conservativemike3768
🤔😏😂
@@donaldshotts4429
Stop smoking crack.
Russia is unmatched in air defence .
It will shot down anything than comes into sight .
@@donaldshotts4429in your dreams ukrobot
Has a frenchman myself, I want to thank you for the accuracy , neutrality and non-biased informations of your video. We are pretty used of seeing foreign media undermining our country because of what happened in WW2. Our army was really strong and capable of giving a good fight to the germans but our leaders at the time were idiot and we lost so quickly only because of their stupid defense decision ( I'm not saying we were gonna beat Germany's ass all by ourself but at least we were capable of blocking them for awhile )
So yeah thank you for being a true unbiased journalist 🇫🇷
If France was not powerful enough to defeat Germany by itself, it shouldn't have declared war on Germany (remember, Germany had no interest whatsoever in a war with France). Pétain and others had argued forcefully in the years prior to the war that French military was unprepared for a major European War and major increases in military budget were necessary. What the "Establishment/Zionist" narrative gets wrong (or more accurately, deliberately lies about) is blaming the French Military for the debacle rather than putting blame firmly on the utterly moronic GEOPOLITICAL decisions made by the interwar civilian French Government which of course were compounded by their failure to properly invest in military spending to support that bellicose and foolish policy.
The one thing France actually DID get right (which West could certainly learn from today) was exiting the war quickly after the full folly of the previous governments' policies and decisions became apparent. Had the British done the same, the war in the West would have ended in the summer of 1940 and Great Britain and France both would have emerged from the war as Great Powers with their colonial empire in tact rather than suffering the rapid post-war collapse and reversion to de facto client states of the American Empire.
It's not just the fact that French leaders "were idiots".
The Germans employed Blitzkrieg tactics. The idea is to outmaneuver the enemies by concentrating your forces at a weak point, thus forcing your opponents to retreat (or they get flanked/surrounded). In order to do this, you need a good coordination between motorized troops, artillery and aircraft. That's where the Germans shined: communications (well-integrated radio's and such). The French military was more motorized than the German military, but some troops still communicated using pigeons (often, French troops even ended up being sitting ducks). Anyhow, this gave the Germans a massive advantage with a huge surprise factor. Another issue was that military leaders weren't used to dealing with Blitzkrieg tactics, thus they had to adapt on the spot/improvise (later on, the tactics were less useful, because other militaries had adapated, both technologically and tactically).
@@ewoudalliet1734 Blitzkrieg is a myth. You should know that. There's a lot of books dealing with this matter. The German were better in radio, indeed, but the loss is more due to French leaders than German abilities to use a concept they never thought about
And how many Frenchman fought on Nazi Germany side? Something like 20,000? 33rd Waffen SS Grenadier Division “Charlemagne”, for example. So, wouldn't be the first time for French siding with Nazi.
You do know that France lost 10 times more soldiers fighting for Germans on eastern front than fighting against Germans in France?
The French didn't surrender in WWI. Learn your history. They lost 3 million lives to beat Germany...
They surrendered in WW2
@@DonaldDawkins-i9b is that what they teach you ?
@@DonaldDawkins-i9b les allemands nous ont affamé pendant la seconde guerre mondial ! les gens mourraient de faim dans mon pays comme dans toute l'Europe en réalité ! et c'est la gauche qui était au pouvoir à ce moment la qui a capitulé et choisi de faire sortir le maréchal Pétain (héros de guerre, qui avait mis une raclée en terme de stratégie et tactique de combat aux Allemands durant la 1ère guerre mondiale) de sa retraite alors qu'il avait plus de 80 ans pour aller "négocier" avec les allemands (qui le haïssaient et voulaient l'humilier pour ces victoires de la première guerre mondiale), mais quand il a compris l'état dans lequel la population Française se trouvait, il à du se plier aux exigences allemande pour que ceux-ci acceptent enfin de distribuer les stocks de nourriture via les tickets de rationnement pour que l'on arrêtent de mourir de faim et puisse reprendre des forces !
oui on a capitulé, mais on à fait le dos rond, résisté et réussi à trouver des alliés qui nous ont permis de sortir la tête de l'eau et gagner !
@@DonaldDawkins-i9b The french governement yes, but not the French, have you heard of the battle of Bir Hakeim? and the hundred of french pilots in the soviet air force? French Résistance ?
@@guizarc7144on parle de la 1er guerre mondial. Ouvrez les yeux.
As a german, I'm really glad to see our friends, namely Poland and France, to actually step up. Within germany, it feels like nothing is happening to plan for the future, no matter if thats regarding our demography, geo-political threads or climate change.
Well look who you have been electing for the last few decades, especially in the last election. Not only have you put incompetent idiots in the government, at the same time it made AFD more attractive, cause hey they are right but in comparison to what we have now, beside Söder and a few others, they are pretty much the only reasonable ones.
Things are on track in Germany. Your chancellor is not ready to accept it because of his own old education. But things change anyway. It's just not visible yet. A example: french and german could not agree on how to build a common main battle tank. Talks started as early as during the 80s, and failed. Started again 10 years ago or so, and nothing seems to move. Strangely enough, problems were solved this years, and the deal is signed, a common tank will be build to replace both leopards 2 and leclercs.
@@jameswilliams3304 They are not Russian tanks, they are actually high quality armor.
Seriously german? Germany prefers buying american aircraft instead of French air craft ? wtf are you talking about? You always ruined every Euro military project if you're involed in it.
Germany talk about Step up ? When was your last conflict? 1939? Your main battle tank apporach 50years ! You have no nuclear power. You don't built aircraft or submarines. What are you f*cking talkin about?
FFS stop your superiority complex.
Instead Germany should focus on saving it's industrial base and stop being the dumb puppet of the americans.
Much respect and gratitude for France - from a Swede.
I hope our country will reciprocate and by proportion do even more.
Thank you for your kindness.
Really, the french don't imagine how hostile other countries are against us. This hate should produce an electro-shock. We know what is called "french bashing" but it's now reaching an alarming threshold.
@@jnptsoui c'est correct on veut nous voir a terre
Le ”french bashing” prend sa source dans l’ignorance mais surtout la jalousie de certains ( anglo saxons la plupart ? )
Je vois bien une fusion des qualités du gripen et du rafale pour créer un avion hors norme issu de la coopération franco suédoise
@@philippe_grosvenor_le_normand imagine 😂😂😂 deja rien que le raffal c'edt un beaux morceaux
Very informative analysis.
Admittedly, I find it surreal to be watching images of artillery shells and tanks and to be hearing them being talked about in terms of sheer, cold numbers. 1000 per day, 3000 per day etc. I see the reason why it is all treated like that, but whenever such images show up I can't prevent my head from going back to the moments in march 2022 when colleagues of mine and I took care of freshly wounded ukranian soldiers that had been transported to the hospital I have been working in order torelieve overwhelmed hospitals from poland and vicinity. One in particular had an artillery shell explode not far away from him and came with shrapnel in his brain, lungs, abdomen arm and legs, paralized from the neck down, barely stable after the first round of the necessary surgeries had been done as best as they could in ucraine before sending him to us with the helicopter.
And that's my point. Each of this shell is potentially a dozen or more lives violently torn apart, dozens of relatives mourning, generations to come deeply scarred in their psyche. It's daunting, depressing and infuriating to think humanity cannot come to a better solution to conflict.
The perspective you just shared is one tt we should always keep in mind when planning these things
That's why we need to be fully prepared for war so it won't happen. Instead we were weak so Putin saw an opportunity to invade another country. China-Taiwan is next and Pakistan could soon be fighting its neighbours.
Some humans. The artillery wounding that soldier was sent from an aggressive invader. Putin doesn't believe in peaceful conflict.
France is not preparing! lol, the asshole in our government is an idiot! The country is not going to follow him! We have 3 days of ammunition if we are attacked! The psychopath no longer knows what to do to get noticed
Your thoughts are very noble,I believe all liberal thought to be w/sincere intentions,unfortunately the reality is that EVIL resides in some powerful nation states,consequently they aspire to impose their will through brute force. This requires that just freedom loving democracies must arm themselves w/ghastly weapons of war costing precious resources that could otherwise be spent to uplift society w/more equality in mind.It's unfortunate but tragically necessary when the strength is imposed bluntly to conquer those deemed weak by certain nations for nationalistic,economic, or geographic reasons.
I have come to appreciate your channel….. you do a lot of research and memorize it…. Good job ..
For the love of God please do Germany next, you know the country that went from over 7000 tanks during the same period to less than 300 today. The same country that became absolutely dependent on Russian energy while demanding the US protect them from Russia at the same time. The fifth largest GDP that can not even meet the 2 percent of GDP they agreed to.
The last time they heavily militarized it resulted in them partition to 2 halves
I think you missed the part about invading its neighbourgs and comitting a genocide@@asiancinemabuns8203
@asiancinemabuns8203 you are essentially dismissing the current state of internal politics in Germany in relation to their military.
They still have to do that anyway, considering Russia is essentially the very mirror of the former German Empire.
they didnt demand US protection, US is in germany because of rise of communism and to keep germany under check.
Germany does not require the US to protect us from Russia or anyone else. Its been the geopolitical goal of the UK since 1871 and of the US since 1914, that Russia and germany (and West-europe) stay divided. Oh and by the way, we are the 3rd largest country by GDP.
The reason Germanys army declined after 1990 is that the UK (magaret thatcher) and france were scared shitless that the GDR and West-Germany reunite, which is why they demanded that Germany had to reduce their military assets and dispose most of the military equipment.
In addition to that you seem to forgot that germany has US nuclear bombs strapped to their planes since the Coldwar, which arent meant to be used on our own merrit, but to protect the US, which made germany always the first strike target during the Coldwar.
The US doesnt hold single military base anywhere in the world for "democracy" or "peace", its geopolitical chess to profit the rich, paid with the blood of young american men with honorable intentions.
The US is just an empire like the UK used to be or the Roman Empire.
Wait wait wait…. Did you say France had over 1000 battleships in 1991??? I think you might just mean boats in the water and are using the term battleships out of context
The French hold a lot of overseas territory
I think Cappy was correct
Well there are no "Battleships" in any world navy so there is that.
Now I'm thinking you're right
Yes, he meant warships. Damn it, so my kayak can't be upgraded to battleship?
Bonjour ; pour une fois que je n'entends pas du "French bashing", cela me fait particulièrement chaud au coeur.
Un grand merci donc pour Task & Purpose, d'autant plus que cette video est particulièrement bien documentée et commentée !
BRAVO !
I handled that for the channel lol.
The last time yall were viable was during our revolution. Since then? We bail you out.
France needs to stay out of war. They are particularly bad at it
Macron ferait bien de s'occuper de l'ennemi de l'intérieur, la 5ème colonne qui est bien présente en Europe et qui veut notre mort, à nous les mécréants.
Pourquoi tu commente en français
It is good to see France take this stance on defense..
Great, fast moving concise report!!😊 Bravo!!
I recognize that France sometimes has to tolerate being the focus of some good-natured humor, and its relationship within NATO is rather unique, but I'd rather be fighting beside a French soldier than fighting against one. Vive la France! 🇫🇷
You would rather stay at home eating french fries
You people are openly cheering on war between nuclear powers. This is insanity.
@@itsAlyxx im assuming thats what he meant; he rather not fight, alongside frenchies xD they are currently getting eviscerated by the invasive species pouring in the country anyway, they cant move out to fight a much greater power hahaha
Yes, because a french soldier will raise the white flag after 2 days, maybe less!
😂@@itsAlyxx
Thank you for this video, and all the work it represents.
As a French citizen, I would like to thank you for bringing together all this information, all these documents, all these comments and all these maps.
You make things particularly clear. And in my case, your dispassionate and objective approach helps me to put my ideas in order.
And hats off to you for putting things into perspective with historical references.
Well done.
France will become another whore house as the German Nazis made them during WW2.
The French should invest in air forces and especially drone/anti-drone forces, nuclear missiles and the iron dome. They have the savy to defeat Russian nuclear missiles and nuclear war survivability. That ensures it does not start.
@@retireorbust The french weapons were proven as a joke in UKriane. France is making a fool of themselves.
@@retireorbustah yes... because if history has taught us anything it's that the French have a fine track record of winning wars against Russia...
Il se fourvoie sur les raisons historiques de la dotation du nucléaire militaire par De Gaulle. De Gaulle pensait qu'après Dien Bien Phu, ou les américains nous ont refusé de l'aide, et les évènements du canal de suez ou les américains nous ont également laché, on ne pourrait faire confiance à cet allié. En résulte la volonté de l'arsenal nucléaire national.
Remarkable quality job! I am a French geopolitical and international affairs journalist, I found your presentation on "Why France is Preparing for War" to be outstanding. My compliments.
We are not bailing you out this time. Ef around and find out.
@@DrunkcookingwilthBilly Dial down your arrogance, your country exists because of France.
Are you a BLIND JOURNALIST???
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
and if you are such a professional you should say they will clash because of the african frecnh colonies that are now under russian control
So you know why this war
"Our enemies are about to find out why we don't have healthcare!" GOLD. Love it.
The US spends double on healthcare compared to the allies. America could double its military budget and have change left over if its healthcare costs were the same as the allies (from 17%/GDP to 9%/GDP).
@@overworlder and still their healthcare system fails more to actually take care of their civilians instead of ripping them off
@@overworlder US spends a lot more in healthcare because of unfortunate inefficiency of their system. See, in France for example, we have extensive preventive healthcare for free, and very low cost health insurance, most "poor" people don't get too much sick, and therefore costly for the system. US poors on the other hand, take ealthcare only when it's late and costs a lot of money. A virtuous circle vs vicious circle thing
And so hv the Chinese since 1949.
The problem of the US healthcare system is capitalism. US citizens put a lot of money in their system but the citizens are not the ones who get the most advantages from it. A lot of the money is lost with an unefficient administration and with pharmacieutical companies who make the rules of the market. In Europe and France in particular, those companies don't do what they want, especially about prices, because Europe values citizens rights and needs over companies' greed : every year, the French government discuses prices with companies and in the end, the government has the final cut. In concrete terms, it means a box of penicillin vials costs about $200 to a US citizen ; the same box in Europe costs around 15€ ($17) (and companies still make money out of it)... Do the maths... 😉
What!? No! France did not surrender in WW1! It fought like crazy, lost millions of men, led the allied troops and... won the war. Anyway, apart from that mistake (symptomatic of an American mind lol), thanks a lot for this very good research and analysis. Impressive!
We fought and died in our own land for the Americans and British to loudly boast that they won the war.
Also the French Navy had nowhere near 1,300 battleships in 1990, or at any time in history lol
France surrendered in a week to nazies ))))
The British actually did win the war in the end. They took the brunt of the Spring Offensive and led the 100 days in 1918. They also invented tanks. You guys mutinied in 1917 and were tired of it.
I mean, isnt it that France's surrender in WWII is partially caused by the fierce combat during WWI and the unfortunate losses suffered?
Can you do a similar analysis of the British military? Their ground forces are even smaller.
And with similar issues: financial arbitration between nuclear and conventional forces, force reduction, return to a model adapted to high-intensity warfare...
Yes after Poland and Germany
@@Taskandpurposelol, gotteem, love from PA, brother
The British have a military?
That is a much better explanation of France's current military standing than you would find most places. Great video!
American here. My apologies to Western Europe for the "Stupidity" of the Republican Party.
Lifelong Democrat here and love Europe.
French here, dont worry we will be always friends 🇨🇵❤️🇺🇲
@@miniamaba6963Nah, I don’t want american imperialism over here, not anymore
Good to hear that ! When Kamala wins could you send Trump and Johnston to the Hague to be indicted for war crimes ! I understand Lord Cameron told the convicted Felon that if MJ did not release the funds they would be facing more serious charges !
@@miniamaba6963Bon ce bon?
very informative episode. UK citizen here, living in France. I once heard: the French copy no one and no one copies the French.
You have to admire the French, they punch above their weight! The country was trashed by WWII, society divided by the Nazi occupation. That Gallic pride and the vision of CDG (which admittedly came with quasi authoritarian aspects of his régime) got this recovering economy from poverty into a powerful place with foundations laid for a home grown industry: nuclear (civil and military), fighter jets which have exported over the world, independent technology like inertial navigation and optics, supercompute capacity which is key for everything these days from cryptography to national defense, elite special forces, civil aviation which has given transport and tanker capabilities, high speed rail, cheap internet, rockets and satellite launchers etc. Which brings us to the French global reach. You mentioned the 60-80's international policy of non alignment (which is not neutrality) which is smart and takes balls. The French kept some allies close and some some controversial enemies closer. Their territories have nickel, uranium and rare metals. The ESA launches from French Guyana efficiently because it's close to the equator. The Algerian desert (when it was French) and South Pacific islands were nuclear testing grounds. Today, Reunion, Djibouti, Polynesia are key stations for global intelligence gathering. Traditionally the French have not been good at soft power, but even that is improving a lot. What are the luxury brands that first come to mind? Hermès, Kering, LVMH, l'Oréal, all French. Ubisoft is French and on and on. The UK is nowhere near France in terms of autonomous, sovereign capacity. Nowhere near.
Nothing Gallic about the French.
They like to pretend otherwise.
French children are taught that their ancestors were the Gauls, the indigenous people of France. But it's not true. The Gauls were more or less exterminated by the Franks, a Germanic people who invaded France when the Huns invaded their homeland. The French are the Franks. But that makes them invaders and not the original people of the land. So they invent another story that they like better. It's as if the US were to teach children that they are primarily descended from the Cherokee Indians when most of them don't have a single drop of Indian blood.
And yet they always were fast enough to surrender in all world wars lmao
@@stepbri France didn't surrender in WW1. Try to actually learn about both World Wars before making corny jokes about them.
@@ewoudalliet1734they won after the German retreated actively from French territory.
France’s post WW2 recovery was fueled by its African colonies, which today, STILL suffer the effects of French exploitation via the CFA franc. The country doesn’t deserve this kind of praise.
War is scary, there is no glory to it at all. Personally I hope I never have to see a war. Mr. X
Life is scary. 😂
Completely agree.
But how can anyone stop Putin?
War is scary, but the glory comes and goes. Throughout history, war hasn't looked like how it does today. Early in African history war was basically just a dick swinging contest where everyone threw spears from a distance before charging in and trying to send the enemy running, it was fairly common for everyone to make it home from a "battle" with some pretty nasty wounds.
Later, the Romans saw glory in taking land and valuables to enrich their families and home city. Glory in the riches of war, in the process of conquest.
And later after that in the medieval period war was a political tool, the glory in war was showing your loyalty to your Lord, to be an indispensable tool in their political toolkit in exchange for having your home life taken care of (to varying degrees, be it living on the Lords farm or in a fortified castle)
Much like everything else these days the glory in war is gone because we're just going through the motions, the average person has no reason to know or care why were going to war and so they only see its horror, and that horror has only grown as weapons have become more lethal than our squishy human bodies can keep up with.
War is a horror, but war is a horror we invented. It's not a natural part of humanity, it is nature stretched and distorted to fit our convenience
@@ad686Theres multiple reasons, surely you cant be saying russias invasion has nothing to do with this preparation at all
75% des Français ne veulent pas d'intervention militaire en Ukraine.
L'Ukraine est un pays aussi corrompu et responsable du conflit que la Russie.
Very well done !!! 👏 you were right on the money !! Very well explained
LOVE that de Gaulle quote. That's a keeper to share around these days.
Love your balanced take on things, in Europe and US. "Our enemies are about to find out why none of us have healthcare." Nearly had me spit out my coffee! Good job. ;-)
😅
“Our” enemies. I’m confused about why we don’t have healthcare and why we produce the amount of shell a year that Russia produces in a month.
Ditto! I almost needed a new keyboard!!!
*Enemies America created for themselves.
Why didn’t they let Russia join NATO in the nineties? Always gotta have a boogieman to keep the masses scared. Russians didn’t consider Americans enemies until they meddled in their affairs- hell they warned the US about Al Qaeda. Most Russians, especially Russo-Americans like myself, still don’t consider the west enemies.
Why can’t Americans see through the obvious “Bread and Circuses”?
I guess you do you?
@@os10v311 Good luck with that with your current leadership.
Good to know the French point of view and explains much of what's been underpinning their actions over the last few decades. Best regards, from the USA
It's an American view of how France is managing their defence. France doesn't stand alone. their is a whole of the EU, even the UK. The whole of the US (52 states?) invests 4% If we do that as the EU, it's less than our 2% of every EU-state. Thats the whole point, where Trump went wrong. We work together, but retain our independance. Our investments in military investments are at least measuring the US, and we are again investing much, much more... For example Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, and so many other states, not included in this video. We like it that way. ;-)
@@MrXeCute Thank you for your views, best of luck to you.
@@MrXeCute copium. France has its own independent interests. It only wants "strategic autonomy" for the EU and an "EU army" as long as France is in the leading role.
Why should any Straight White Male, fight for any EU/NATO government?
@@chickenfishhybrid44Well. They and Germany are definitely the biggest players in the EU.
Glad you mentioned Frances shrinking submarine fleet. It sheds more light on why they were so pissed the US made the sub deal with the Australians.
The French are always peeeesed no matter what we do
Worst deal for Australians though
suivant le traité de L' Aukus les Britanniques sont égales a eux mêmes comme en mai 1940 le réembarquement des soi disant soldats professionnels anglais et le désastre de Dunkerque : Courage fuyons en Angleterre . ensuite le fameux Brexit en 1960 les britanniques font des pieds et des mains en suppliants les français et allemands pour rentrer dans le marché commun sauf que le Général De Gaulles ne voulait pas des anglais après sa morts ils rentrent dans l'union européenne . puis en sortent car ils n'ont pas obtenu ce qu'ils voulaient . boris Jonhson le caniche de Washington saborde le contrat des sous marins australiens le contrat ayant été signer les australien perde 54 milliards de dollars qui revient a l'entreprise française . Le Maréchal Français Ney disait des anglais qu'ils ne connaissaient pad l'honneur et c'est vrai il ne faut jamais avoir confiance aux britanniques
You miss the point. They were annoyed, because Australia cancelled a contract to deliver submarines to OZ and because the perfidious albion did not tell them about the negotiations between the US, the UK and OZ to form the Aukus deal.
@@SKgeostratThe conservative Morrison was the one who lied to the French and failed to inform them of the AUKUS deal.
You just seem to keep getting better and better. I consistently watch your videos.Thanks for the education.
France vs Russia is about Africa. If they get into a scrap in Ukraine, they can carry out the fight in Africa as well.
My thoughts exactly. France has been fighting a secret war in Africa for gold for the last 3 decades. Russia is doing the same using the Wagner group.
As they should, I just hope this is not to prop up their neo-colonial project, though. Let actual goodwill come to France by exposing the duplicity of Russian imperial aspirations in their countries.
@@EarthForces It's literally to prop up their neo-colonial project since most African countries rebuked efforts of France to provide assistance in exchange for access to African resources.
@@EarthForcesFrance has been the biggest imperial influence in Africa. They are literally gearing up to cause chaos specifically in the Sahel region in Africa. They were freeloading on resources there and it’s been cut. Now they want war!
Peeling Africa away from the CFA franc and France away from the resources and monetary dominance of that region is absolutely something they will fight over
France NEVER surrendered in WWI. Have a nice day!
🇺🇸 you're welcome
Don’t know why I lumped those two together , sometimes I go off script without checking and it’s bad ❤
@@rogerwilco5918there was you?
@@rogerwilco5918oh could you just not, for one minute, make it about yourself please
@Taskandpurpose it's not hard to just automatically assume France didn't surrendered again.
Do you know how many French men it takes to defend paris? Nobody knows, it's never been done before
Excellent and objective analysis, without French bashing! France needs more mass and independence. Its military history has always influenced the whole world, it must continue to be a power of peace and inspire fear. Because si vis pacem, parabellum.
What do you mean by Mass? like they gotta start annexing stuff?
@@Zechariah_Mathieson1871He means that France should start producing more equipment, we have quality but not quantity for high intensity warfare. French army is suited to expeditions (like in Africa), not high intensity warfare like what we see in Ukraine.
power of peace? what a joke
@@HustleMuscleGhiasRetourne dans les livres d'histoire mon grand tu apprendra que la France et le pays qui a remporté le plus de bataille dans l'histoire 😘
@@HustleMuscleGhias Car tu n'as pas d'arguments, mon pays a ses défaut comme tout autres États mais ça ne sert à rien de dire des choses aussi grotesques sans avoir ouvert un livre d'histoire, des bisous de France 😘
France never fell in WW2. Once the metropolitan territory occupy (by the way, they distorted during the Battle of France half of German equipment and save UK whose the government was collapsing before the coming of Churchill), France continued war in African front, then landed in Italy and did the major fight since all the advance of allies were only made by the French (CEFI of French General Juin (112 000 French soldiers / 300 000 total ally soldiers).
Then French Army landed in France and on the 500 000 soldiers involved, 300 000 were French and there were above it about 500 000 resistant inside France 1942-1944). France had the second biggest army of western front and just in Germany, sent 1 300 000 French soldiers (American soldiers were 1 500 000). Even Clark and Patton themselves (American Genrals) said that they totally needed the French, especially, general Leclerc, de Lattre and Juin.
Oh dear that is so desperately wrong ! The Germans defeated you and without GB the Dominion states and USA you would still be eating Bratwurst and Kartoffel on the Champs Elyse's
@@petertlusty3343FREE FRANCE ???
@@petertlusty3343 France lost the battle of France in 1940 because of incompetant leadership and useless governement that was not far away from collapsing, but still we saved the entire British expeditionary forces at Dunkerque while being encircled , outnumbered and under equiped but still not letting the German pass.
"These Frenchmen, under the gallant leadership of general Molinié have for four days stopped 7 germans divsions which otherwise would have joined the assault on the Dunkerque perimeter. This was a splendid contribution to the escape of their more fortnate comrade of the British expeditionary forces."
-Winston churchill
"Despite our overwhelming superiority in men and hardware number, the French are counter attacking in several places, I do not understand how those brave Frenchmen are finding the strenght to launch their assault, while being outnumbered 1 to 10. This is simply amazing. I see in those French men the same determination as the veteran of Verdun in 1916 . For several days now the French defence has been bombed by hundreds of bombers but it s always the same. Our infantry and panzers just cant break through. I fear that Dunkerque could be a failur for us as almost all the BEF will escape because of a few thouasnds brave French blockings us the path to sea.
That's it , Dunkirque brings the proof that the French soldier is one of the best in the world and the French artillery proves once again it efficiency. Our losses are terryfing, numerouns bataillons lost more than 60%of their men. By resisting more than 10 days, those brave Frenchmen have certainly saved Great Britain from defeat."
-Georg von Kuchler , General of the XVIII Wehrmacht army.
Yet even after that the French that refused Petain s surrender and betreyal joined De Gaulle as the Free French , starting in north africa and winning even more battles and being extremelly important like at bir hakeim where 3700 Free Frenches defeated more than 40000 Germans and italians and once again even Rommel admited we were the best soldiers in the world at the time. And the Resistance too that helped by sabotaging the Germans until the liberation and making the d day possible by tricking the Germans in making them think it would happend somewhere else. And then the liberation where the Free Frenches , British , Americans and others liberated France and then more than half a million French took part in the Final victory over the Germans.
But it s true that if in 1940 The governement and high command wasnt so useless the Germans would have been crushed way before. They should have done that in 1936 already when the Germans remilitarized the Rhineland but still even after that we still won the war and were one of the biggest reason why the Allies won too. By destroying most of the German army in 1940 which helped Britain with the battle of Britain in the air, By saving their entire Expeditionary force at Dunkerque , By being one of the principal power of the allies through all of the war even after 1940. But it came at a cost, the lives of hundred of thousands of Brave Frenchmen but for what. To be called cowards by people on the internet that literally dont know anything about history??
@@Celebaguette our expeditionary force wouldnt have had to be there so soon if the french had stopped the nazis where they should have in the first place,the battle of britain was nothing to do with the french really it was the skill and bravery of the royal air force that continually beat back the huge number of lufftwaffe planes,many polish pilots helped the RAF also
@@simonpeyton-n3h did you even read what i said?
Nice fluid graphics, particularly the maps and their animation. Kudos to your graphics team.
Michael the editor does amazing work
@@Taskandpurpose He does a great job, it's not a big deal but at 24:04 you showed serbian Nora arty instead french Caesar.
Excuse me ??? France didn't surrender in World War One !!!
Thank you for this very interesting and extremely well documented video 👍
@@raunoraiha752 Why would I believe history books? Because it's the best we have?
@@raunoraiha752 I don't understand ? that is what I am saying ? France did not surrender... They won the First World War ! Millions of French soldiers died and hundreds of thousands were mutilated...
@@misterbarbarfranceidk bro reading comprehension is the final boss for most UA-cam commenters.
During truly peaceful times having a large military is a waste of valuable resources. During dangerous times, not having a strong military is an unbearable risk.
It is a dilemma. But if you are able to see the signs ahead of time then you will be able to re-arm before you need it.
I wouldn't be so confident that rearming before you need the weapons is manageable. Procurement times for a lot of military equipment are incredibly long. Like, 4 or 5 years would be fairly quick.
@@austinfournier5445And therein lies the dilemma. If it was easy and quick to ramp up, then there wouldn't be a dilemma.
The issue is spotting the need for the ramp up years or a decade in advance of needing it. Not an easy feat. In the case of Ukraine, the warning sign was when Russia took Crimea.
Russia looking more and more like pre WW2 Germany.. I would say it's one of those times you need to change gear.
Baltic States warned France and Germany about russia already 15 years ago. Never listend..
Having a large military in peaceful times isn't necessarily a waste of resources considering that military superpower tends to keep things peaceful, at least for the country with the power (and to allies to some extent.)
It is wild how much we so spend on weapons and shit. But so many of everyday inventions were invented during wars. Our inventors seem to be at their most creative during times of was and/or it is when they have their projects financed, the money no matter.
Weird fact is how lighters existed before matches. Believe matched were made for war... just like Spam. But way more important things I cannot list off the top of my head.
Great reporting
Phantastic video. Packed with information, not opinions. Congratulations.
The classic economic phrase is “guns and butter”, when discussing domestic and foreign spending. This video was well made. Thanks for the historical asides. Thanks for all the effort into making this video.
Yes ! That was the phrase I was looking for it was on the tip of my tongue
First video I've watched from this channel and I just want to say how incredibly well laid out this all was and easily digestible for somebody eager to learn about the conflict in Europe!
Appreciate the hard work that goes into learning all of this - subscribed!
if you want to learn about the conflict in europe, its quite easy: the governments are lead by a global elite that earns their wealth with war and the extraction of tax money into private pockets.
Russia didn’t “Invade” Ukraine..The CIA did back in 2008..Then The E.U/U.N./Obama-Bush D,C, Globalist Swamp Fomented a color revolution, installed a puppet and Violated the Minsk accord…..
Russia is Fighting the Good Fight.
I am an American And Even I can See this!.
@@0Logan05 you might be an American but you're also crazy as hell
France makes quality! Love from NZ
Definitely one of your better analysis efforts! Excellent!
not really he ignores everything going in french colonies and slaved countries in africa that switched frenches whole approach to the war..
@@jon3mi3s apparently you didn't watch the whole video..
Stupendous, superb. as they say in La France: FORMIDABLE
@@jon3mi3s "Slaved countries", Do you know that sub-saharan Africa represents less than 2 % of French foreign trade ? When we take only the former French colonies (it would be strange to consider that Nigeria or South Africa are stolen by French due to non-existent historical ties), it's around one percent ? French just really don't care about some backwards countries, it's nice for them to say that they have a "pre carre" (influence zone) but they will easily survive without.
Apart from those 1000 battleships.... Pfftt!
As a French speaker and follower of French policy, I think that this is one of your best pieces I've seen. Extremely well researched, analyzed and synthesized. Excellent, merci. Btw, I largely agree with the strategic autonomy approach--Europe needs to be able to stand on its own feet, and, as an American, will only increase and strengthen of the trans-Atlantic relationship.
From your perspective, is France thinking Russia will expand to them after Ukraine, or is there some other due being lit pushing France into this fight?
@@thomast6741 France is likely envisioning increasing volatility in Russia, that could lead it towards a brinkmanship approach, especially if the US becomes less engaged, supportive, or become distracted, for example with China. Russia might be deficient conventionally but it's nuclear arsenal could leverage that gap quite easily. As such even a modest nuclear arsenal from France could impose enough costs for Rus to think twice.
france cant do shit...wake up
@@thomast6741they want to shut down the potential of that and Russia is actively fighting France in north Western Africa. There’s a level of deniability since it’s Wagner and the foreign legion, but still. France kept their former colonies close and Russia is trying to tear the resource rich portions away from French influence
Peeps the only reason France cares is because Russia is wrecking them in Africa. All the exploitation France has been able to do in Africa have come under threat. They now want to play the part of a brave saviour and have other states solve their problem
There are no good people or states, just people and states looking out for their own interest
That was nice having an external view.
I think our lack of focus on ground forces is because to reach France, you need to step on a whole lot of countries with an already much larger ground force, like Poland. Investing in what other countries in the EU don't have should be the goal.
For any incoming invasion (from Russia), what France will offer against the first strike to our allies is exactly what we are investing into.
Russia hasn't been able to fully capture a single Ukrainian province in two years. Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe, by the way. How will Russia conquer 30 NATO states?
It's not the poorest as the EU and the US are handing out billions to it.@@dmitrimikrioukov5935
@@dmitrimikrioukov5935 If the US were busy fighting a hot war with china and/or Trump abandoned europe, the overall picture would be much more dire. We'd be running out of ammo in days and have almost no equipment reserves to speak of. Everything was designed with the americans quickly jumping in with a galore of troops and equipment in mind. There was a joke in Bundeswehr circles stating we're just there to delay the russian advance until the real army would show up. Even the AWACS aircraft are owned by the US, we dont have much in this area.
@@yves2932 You must be kidding. Conquering Germany in days and not a single Ukrainian province in 2 years. This very idea must be insulting to Germans. Even now Germany has a far bigger military budget than Ukraine and a far more powerful defence industry. I knew a retired Soviet officer, and he told me they knew the toughest NATO army was German. Next came the Brits. Americans were sissies with expensive but useless weapons.
@@yves2932 Europe produce 1.2 to 1.4 million 155mm shell per year. But we sell must of them.
Nous ne sommes pas des lâches, et nous n'en n'avons jamais été.
@@jean-lucfrotey7604 Nobody called you guys cowards, maybe this is just your own projection?
@@ld8682 not against you but you may see (in thoose comments) that some people proclaimed that, based on 1 war while their own countrie were looking and tryng to make benefits
@@ld8682yes i think thit is
Love the new way you film. More facts and less jokes. Great videos and very comprehensive.
Disagree, while I love the content and quality, I also love Cappy's corny jokes. A few jokes sprinkled in here and there can really break up the monotone of the factoids.
I know Britain isn't in the EU anymore... And our missles apparently don't work, but we are geographically in Europe!
If our missiles don’t work then neither do the USA as there the same and there serviced by the USA
Wiring harness from a MGB.
Yes it’s very true and it appears Britain is also investing heavily in nukes a similar plan as France
it 2 old missiles that they knew wouldnt work due to be at the end of there life.
@@michaelhelbrow7906 it is intresting you say that. Do you have evidence to back it up? I was not aware of this. If it is the case then the billions a year of taxpayers money was not void on the upkeep of this and perhaps even a strategy by the British to appear weak in an attempt to jabait the Russians into doing a preemptive strike. I really would not put it past them. They are as crafty as the Japanese in terms of deception. Regardless big respect to France for taking this realtime geopolitcal shift seriously. Trumps statement on NATO is seeing it barefruit it seems.
It's been a while since I watched a full video on youtube. Thanks for the quality
🙌
An excellent review of French military planning. When thought of from France's geo/pol needs their plans make a lot of sense! When you consider how fickle the democracies are in times of international stress not having to rely on "the other guy" is only prudent.
On a side note, watching the growth in this channel's coverage has been a real joy to behold. Keep up the great work!
Hello, I'm french and I enjoyed your video. I learned a lot of things about my country and trained my English. TY
PRACTICED, not trained. As I was corrected when I tried to speak French. Returning the favour :)
@tadaaaa952Try going to school to get an education at last.
France exploitation of the African people is coming to a end
@tadaaaa952 tell me you speak only one language without telling me you speak one language
well go to african news outlets so you can learn more about your country and its oppression of the francofarm countries..that happening right now
Wow your production value has increased quite a bit lately! Props man
Man this guy is a good lecture. Im never bored
she is trans lesbian
An interesting and thought-provoking video, thanks!😊👏🏻🎉
Excellent review. Unlike many of France's shaky EU neighbours, France has taken to heart the notiion of "if you want peace, prepare for war". And France was smart enough to avoid being overly dependent on potential enemies like Russia or China and unreliable friends like Saudi Arabia or the USA (under Trump).
Usa with biden is reliable ? hhh no and we french know that Trump is better for peace that Biden will ever been. Who destroyed Northstream?
Under Trump and Biden in fact
Its America FIRST BOTH
We were so criticized for not being ready before the WWII so i believe it’s important to prepare for the worst, even if we obviously don’t want to:
"Si vis pacem, para bellum"
Thank you for your very thorough and serious analysis. 🇨🇵
France gets a lot flak for thier surrender at the start of WW2.
They had the numbers and and in some cases better equipment than the Germans.
I don't feel as though it was the individual French soldier that failed but more blame lies on the politicians for not being ready and militarily leadership for bad strategy.
It is my personal belief that had the French army fallen back and regrouped they may at the very least have stalled the Germans until the British could reorganize thier army after the evacuation at Dunkirk. ( Can't say with 100% certainty they would of been able to do that in time.)
En fait on était prêt militairement parlant, contrairement à la croyance populaire, le Front Populaire a augmenté la production militaire et les 40h étaient faites de plusieurs dérogations dans le domaine militaire, en 1936 le Front Populaire lance un programme de 14 milliards pour le réarmement. La défaite de 1940 est surtout due à des erreurs stratégiques monumentales (le gros de nos troupes qui se retrouvent encerclées dans le Nord et en Belgique).
@@edouardescoui tu as totalement raison mais dans mon commentaire j'ai résumé un peu étant donné mon niveau en anglais 😉
@@elmiroelmiro9927 tkt je suis fan d'histoire surtout de la seconde guerre mondiale donc a chaque fois que je vois une erreur je me sens obligé de corriger 😅
@@edouardescPour compléter : la fatale erreur de l’Etat major français a été de laisser une partie de la ligne Maginot mal défendue (Sedan) en prenant pour acquis le fait que les allemands ne pourraient pas traverser le massif des Ardennes. Sauf qu’ils l’ont fait. C’était déjà trop tard une fois la percée de Sedan réalisée.
Dude fantastic job, First time watching your channel and the quality has got me quite interested. Accurate and informative. Well done
First class presentation that includes the importance of context with respect to the French world view. Also, indirectly points to a core feature in the character of America's oldest allay, namely the expectation that in matters that matter there should be rigor of thought & finetuned debate
Alot of comments here highly underestimates the modern French military force. And yet, at the same time, the same people praise the Legion as one of the most impressive forces. Kinda crazy huh
Lmao please french army for 3 ðays ran out of bombs to bomb lybia and asked US to do its job. Now lost to niger, mali and hurkina faso. A joke of a small army not able to do high intensity warfare
@@alexnderrrthewoke4479and they're Les Poosee's
i began typing a logical counter to your comment, then i read your username
so.. i agree with you
Most people who watch this channel are 15 year-olds who play War Thunder.
@@alexnderrrthewoke4479 Oh yeah they lost huh. Did they lose like the US lost to vietnam where they lost 58 thousand men to their 800 thousands?
You guys dont understand modern warfare and think in binary.
Excellent synthesis on our abilities and challenges in this new international context. Thanks a lot man, great work ! Just subscribed.
France needs to be liberated from Macron and the Nat-Socialist E.U…Brussels /Geneva/ U.N. /cia Is the threat of Threats!.
All of Task & Purpose’s videos are very informative, but this one is at a level of a National Defense briefing. Thank you!
What a great educated story you have every time!!!!
im french and i think you made a realy good work ! congrats !
French military are weak and cowardly.
French guy here, that was quite an interesting video !
I have to tell that you presented a pretty complete aspect of the picture here even though you’re a missing few important points in your analysis:
-You presented France only through mainland France but the French territory is also composed of many overseas territories across the globe ( in the Caribbean, South America, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean mainly ) which actually stretch quite significantly the surface of the globe France has to extend its military presence. To give you a sense of scale, despite being the 41th largest country in landmass, it actually has the second largest EEZ after the US (exclusive economic zone, basically the surface of the ocean that belong to a country)
And all of this with a budget approximately 15 times smaller than the US military.
Thus the France as to make pretty big concessions when it comes to its military capacities.
-The French notion of “strategic independence“ was and is still based on independence in regard to the adversaries but also towards the US. Since the end of WWII the French military strategy has put strong emphasis on being able to being able to act independently from the US. The American “imperialism” is something the French has always been very suspicious about.
Gaining our independence security wise from the US was one of the main driver in the development of our atomic program in the 50’s.
This is also one of the main driver for France choosing quality over quantity, and thus investing in innovation and its military industrial complex: it is absolutely unthinkable for us, French, to have condition imposed on how to use our armement ( which is the case for most US imported armement ).
And on a personal side, I think there is also cultural and historical reason to that, before WWII and for most of its history France has been a global player, therefore there is still a strong belief in French culture that France has to be able to act independently.
-The US potential disengagement from Europe and the eventuality of a second Trump mandate make the Europeans kinda freak out about having Putin a their door. The French will to rearm is very much connected to a larger trend in the EU.
But appart few imprecisions ( France actually won WWI alongside the fellow Brits and incidentally the US lol, or 24:06 those howitzer are not the CEASAR ) and a pretty heavy US bias on the way to present the situation, that was an very complete video ! Maybe you could’ve completed it with a bit more comparison with other countries, to give a sense of scale for some of the figures that you present. It’s often hard to picture the scale of any figure about the military world for a civilian !
To add on this, the French desire to maintain its own independent military capacity is notably one of the reason why no US military bases were installed in France after WWII
With the thought of another nationalist Trump administration, I believe it will be up to France to ensure the security of the EU and spearhead the security of global trade. 🇫🇷
A second Trump Presidency is not inevitable . As a matter of fact, Biden is gaining on him. Both due to increased inroads by Biden and decline of Trump due to ongoing criminal trials and clear evidence he is not as rich as he claimed.
The French guy talking 💩 about imperialism is hilarious!
@@stevepark2643 independent imperialism from the major US & Russia warmonger bully imperialists. 🙄😅
Interesting video Chris but I think you need to check some of this, as the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 so I'm pretty sure the height of the cold was not 1991 to 1992. Also 222 battleships and 254 frigates.
Thanks for the feedback ! Yeah some of this episode I was speaking off the cuff I was talking about the Cold War in general terms . Great catch
The Berlin Wall was a mostly meaningless symbol.......
Berlin was completely in East Germany. There was absolutely no reason for the "Berlin Wall" to ever exist. It was a symbol of the cold war but served no actual purpose.
@Taskandpurpose 😁
The USSR didn’t fall with the wall.
@@Taskandpurposeyou were mostly right and that’s what matters
Great video!
Another excellent piece Cappy, but one small point of order, a slip of the tongue I expect.
France never surrendered in WW1, they fought, and bled, like lions to preserve their country. Historically there is a fairly consistent strain of French military prowess on the continent (except against the English ; ). But yes, the Franco-Prussian and Second World Wars does tend to leave a false impression of the longer, rather impressive, record. I mean, hey, folks throw shade at Italy aka the Roman and the Venetian empires.
Anyway, cheers, and well done. Perilous times.
Yeah but to what end? Just to have French identity turned into a neo-liberal dystopian tumblr buzzword definition or migrants rioting in the streets and causing civil disorder and decay.
But WW2 they not only surrendered they sold out their allies... and fought against them. so if they want to go suck on Zeliski they are welcome to it, I thing the US should let France handle it all and solve the invasion of the USA from south america
though historically speaking, why have the English been so consistently remained as, for lack of a better term, a kryptonite for the french?
like yeah France has had successes against them, but the vast majority of the time, the English have held the upper hand?
England was build by french. Guillaume II. @@basambinsohailraja1801
@@basambinsohailraja1801 weren't most franco-english war won by the french ?
15:55 "Our enemies are about to find out why we don't have health care!!" 😅🤣😂
Loved it!! 😁👍 🇺🇸
Why are you proud of that?
why wouldn't he? he doesn't have to pay 60% tax like EU countries citizens it's much cheaper to use a private doctor @@ScottsFinancialThoughts
@@ScottsFinancialThoughts They are not.
Do you mean that your ennemies will find out how US corrupt politicians will never let Americans have a decent social safenet to please their CEO friends ? Am not sure it would deter your ennemies, mate ...
You say this, but you have only won one war since the 50s😂😂😂
Very good work here. I’m French and i really think your video is diffusing pretty accurate and honest facts, thank you for that.
Spending on the military means french citizens will get poorer as the government reduces spending money on the people
@@Truthorfibstill cheaper thzn being at war or invaded. A bit like spending on anti-theft things for a shop, guardians, alarm, etc...
@@Truthorfib No more assets or income esperencies if we are invaded. The war economy is an other challenge
Idk why you guys are worried about a Russian invasion. You already got invaded by the migrants.
Excellent. Thank you.
Good work and relatively well analyzed. You have forgotten a major fact: the French army is an operational army, an army "used" in war, expeditionary wars certainly, but real wars nonetheless.
This means that French soldiers have experience of war. They are the only ones in the EU.
Note a few small errors:
Souveraineté is not "old French". It's present and usual French. And by the way 'autonomy" comes from French "autonomie". And yes, conscription is a French word, like almost 90% of english military vocabulary ...
France was (by far) the main contributor to the victory of WWI (1.5M killed and 4M injured, out of a population of 44M at the time)
Less than 7% of French consumed energy was coming from Russia (not 17%).
the french haven't fought a real war in over 100 years.
A third World War will be total annihilation, use of Satellite Energy based weapons and Hypersonic Glide Weapons is to dangerous for anyone.
.
@@timjones1583 LOL. France fought during WWII, and then in Indochina and Algeria.
Wars are something cultural in the French History.
You should know that 95% of the current military words are from french language.
Armée-Army
Division-Division
Régiment-Regiment
Artillerie-Artilery
Corps d'armée- Army Corps.
Fusillers Marins- Marines (not Navy Infantry).
Etc.
@@timjones1583 WW2 well within last 100 years and I think both Algeria and Vietnam would also disagree about their wars with the French not being real wars
@@timjones1583 No western power has been at war with an equivalent force since ww2, including the USA.
WOW!!! I really enjoyed that one Cappy, well done mate! I REALLY REALLY wish you'd do one on Canada 🇨🇦. It may help if you could really do a deep dive into how small and ill equipped we've become. Also exposing how small and under performing oue defence industry is couldn't hurt. Keep up the AWESOME work you do, and thanks from an Ex-Canadian soldier, Cheers-JHW
No worries We just changed our Inglis made brownin pistol now our army is up to date 😂
Our army needs a major revamp...but our politicians both federal and provincial governments have lost pride to support each other (citizens) on common issues......
Quickly becoming one of my favorite UA-cam channels
Listening to Chris Cappy trying to pronounce French names is a new S-tier experience for me. ❤
Wow! I watch all of Cappy's videos, but this might be one of the best.
Great flow, easy to understand. Causal relations between geopolitical status of france and their defense budget make so much sense.
Yes, this military spending channel, is money well spent?.
Well, this is more of a general military channel. For a military budget-focussed channel I recommend Perun, he's so good his UA-cam channel has even been referenced in the Australian Parliament. He actually works as a weapons procurement analyst. @@TobyLawnjockey
You say that based on what evidence?@@andrewrobinson2565
Maybe some translation issues. But do they change the overall point of the video? @@xanderunderwoods3363
What's a cappy?
This is one of your very best!
Your shows are coherent and well-researched. Thanks.
Not always. He is extremely pro-west that some of his shows are pure propaganda as though he had been paid by the US government.
Very interesting vid. I was hoping to hear more about space and cyber. Maybe topics for future vids, if you haven't already covered by now.
Very nice and surprising to see an american infantry-man give such a balanced view of the french history and military! Great job, even though, as a German, I disagree with you on serveral points!
That was a brilliant report Cappy. Nice job.
You make some good, easy to understand, and factual content. Thanks man.
I stumbled across video- I learned so much! Thank you for putting in the serious time & effort to research ALL of this. Then, excellent delivery and supporting graphics. I just subscribed. Cheers!
"near peer". the guy is an idiot
Be aware much of it is propaganda
Immersed in both cultures (Star & Stripes flag and Drapeau Tricolore). Grandpa being a young man conscripted during WWII and grandmother a young French woman who took care of him while he was wounded. I would like to emphasize the accuracy of this video. Great job done. France's awakening to the delay in military modernization, allows me to say that I now have two pairs … 😊 One on each side of the pond. God bless both of my countries and the free world of democracy.
do u speak French fluently?
France is already invaded by migrants, the idea they have any business in war at this point is laughable.
Not accurate overall in the slightest. This video pretends the conflict began in Feb 2022, implying Putin just woke up one day and decided to invade a country.
I thought the west has spent the last 7 decades and countless of dollars or euros or francs modernizing their militaries lol,mind u whether or not there is creative account,it doesn't change the fact that most western countries military spending far outstrips any second or third world country by leagues
Take Gaza for example,Israel has dropped nearly 65,000 tonnes of bombs in the first 4 months......do u think gazans even possess anything near that kind of firepower?
@Booz2010 les usa? Le pays ou les femmes ne sont pas libres d'avorter? le pays qui a un taux de mortalité infantile plus élevé que la France? Le pays qui a une espérance de vie inférieur à la France? le pays qui mélange pouvoir et religion, au point que certains états comme le Texas n'ont rien à envier à l'Iran? lol
Congratulations Cappy you have transcended to the group of people that use vis a vis in every day talk
I'm proud of you.
I felt dirty saying it . My pretentious alarm was going off throughout writing this video
@@TaskandpurposeA a Francophone, I think you used properly and well.
Your vis-à-vis was perfect, but your Vincent Desportes was hilarious to hear :D (juste dont say the S like you didn't in vis-à-vis)
As a french i love ur videos. Cheers
omg...ur a french?
Very astute observations about France. And critics of France should remember that the French have one of the most refined military industrial complexes in the world.
And that we're actually the country who has won the highest number of wars in history...
@@srijanme You indians cant even beat a wreck like Pakistan, with your 1970's equipment lol
Yeah they 100 tank and two brigade of untrained forces mwith 2000 monthly shell will surely challenge russia on the battlefield. Russia produces more artillery shells in 30 minutes than France in a month. France is like a crocodile. Big mouth, small arms.
@@srijanmeand Napoleon took berlin in a few days
@@srijanme . For what reasons do many German generals and soldiers pay tribute to the heroic resistance of French troops in May-June 1940?
General Rommel: “The French units fought with a remarkable spirit of sacrifice, causing us heavy losses. The French counterattacks were repulsed with difficulty.“
The German general von Kielmansegg, a young captain in 1940, wrote: “The Montcornet crossroads represented an obligatory passage for the resupply of several of our divisions, as well as an important rear connection line. The assault was directed exactly at the nerve center, where part of the headquarters of Guderian's armored corps and the logistical elements of the 1st Panzer Division were established. We did not expect such a bold attack from our flanks. The armored assault on Montcornet was, during the entire western campaign, the only perfectly appropriate French counterattack in terms of time, place and direction.“
On the German side, the spokesperson for the LVIe DI reports: “Fighting in the dunes, in deep sand, under terrible heat, requires an enormous effort. French troops occupy high dunes from where they can direct their artillery fire. The French soldiers fight with incredible heroism. Our tired infantry no longer advances, although 33 artillery batteries support the attack of the CLXXIe RI. The assault advances very slowly. Sand, unbearable heat, lack of water. The fighters and staff were very tired and at midday, the colonel commanding the 171st RI announced that he must give up continuing the attack, facing the fierce resistance of the brave French soldiers.“
On the German side, General Georg von Küchler commands the 18th Army of the Wehrmacht, entirely engaged against the Dunkirk pocket. In his war diary, this high-ranking officer salutes the valiant resistance of the French troops.“
Despite our overwhelming numerical and material superiority, French troops counterattacked in several places. I cannot understand how such valiant soldiers, fighting in various places one against ten (sometimes even one against thirty), still manage to find enough strength to attack: it is simply astonishing. ! I found among the French soldiers of Dunkirk the same enthusiasm as that of the poilus of Verdun in 1916. For several days, hundreds of bombers and cannons have been pounding the French defenses. However, it's always the same thing, our infantry and our tanks cannot break through, despite some fleeting local successes. The French command very skillfully installed its troops and artillery. I fear that Dunkirk will be a failure for us: almost the entire British expeditionary force and most of the French 1st Army will escape us, because a few thousand brave men are blocking our access to the sea. It's appalling , but that’s how it is.“
Dunkirk provides me with proof that the French soldier is one of the best in the world. French artillery, so feared in 14-18, once again demonstrated its formidable effectiveness. Our losses are terrifying: many battalions have lost 60% of their troops, sometimes even more! “
By resisting for around ten days our forces, which were clearly superior in numbers and means, the French army accomplished, at Dunkirk, a superb feat which should be saluted. She certainly saved Britain from defeat, by allowing her professional army to reach English shores.
The admirable tenacity of the French who, despite the losses suffered, did not give up an inch of ground, meant that the fight remained indecisive and that General Hoepner continued to ignore where the bulk of the enemy's armored forces were located, writes the colonel German Neuman. »
German Colonel von Hippel, whose DCA had its day of glory that day, testified in favor of the bravery of the enemy pilots: “Without stopping, with remarkable courage, the French Potez and Morane came to attack their objective; they fly at low altitude with great audacity. Because it takes guts and audacity to dive so close to this hell that our anti-aircraft guns unleash. But the French know well what it means to destroy this bridge. They don't succeed. (…) At the last second, the pilot jumped from the plane and passed 5 meters above a tank which was crossing the bridge. Not far from there, he sank in the Meuse and never resurfaced. »
The French are fighting with a vigor that leaves my soldiers stunned and furious,” recognizes German General Ke
Outstanding survey! Thanks.
great presentation sir.
A great video again Cappy. Good depth and views, this is the stuff and enjoy.
rubbish
Très intéressant et bien documenté. Merci pour ce travail de qualité.
Nah, they obviously should build a massive fortified line along their eastern border and don't skip Belgium this time.
Great show
I thought explaining the distance by New York and Florida was really cool and helpful. Good shit keep doing that
This is slightly tangental but there's a web site called 'the real size of' or something like that where you can drag countries from where they are on the normal mercator map we're all used to and drop them over the USA or Europe for instance to get an idea of their real size. A lot of countries that seem pretty small are half the size or Europe when properly sized. It gives you an idea of the areas you're talking about when looking at say Algeria, or Sudan, or Iran. It give you an appreciation for why 1,000 troops dropped into some of these countries might not be able to control the entire country when you realise it's actually the size of France. The Mercator Projection gives a very inaccurate idea of how the world actually is and we have that impression pretty much built in.
Until you realize how many New Yorkers are in Miami...
As an American that made me realize how close the war actually was, wow
@@mitch1230 What? Do you really know how far that is? I live near the Czech border and not worried about the war. It would take me 18 hours by car to get to Kiev.
@@ScottsFinancialThoughts That's because Euros don't drive like we do. New York to Florida isn't a bad drive. Long sure. Europe small I guess