🇫🇷France is Russia’s “First Enemy in Europe”, Warns Military Chief in Rare Briefing
General Thierry Burkhard warns of a “lasting, close and dimensional threat” as France prepares to counter hybrid warfare theatres, with President Macron set to outline next defence steps
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Russia now sees France as its principal enemy in Europe.
That is the assessment of General Thierry Burkhard, Chief of staff of the French Armed Forces, who this Friday 11 July 2025 gave an unusually candid press briefing outlining the evolving threats facing the country.
His intervention comes more than three years into the war in Ukraine and at a time when, in his view, the international order is deeply and durably disrupted.
“We should not expect a return to a visible horizon,” said the general, noting that the changes underway are not temporary but structural. The press conference was called only a few days in advance, at the highest levels of government. Burkhard’s mission was to prepare public understanding ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s televised address on Sunday, which is expected to set out the security priorities and commitments France will need to make in the years ahead.
“Russia has designated France as its first adversary in Europe,” Burkhard said. He described a hybrid war being conducted by Moscow against the West, involving “disinformation and cyber attacks, actions in space and under the sea”.
He continued by highlighting that , “Russia is a nuclear and conventional military power” that has “all the attributes of a totalitarian state: a centralized decision-making capacity, a conditioning of the population.”
For France and Europe more broadly, this constitutes “a long-lasting, close and dimensional threat”, which, according to Burkhard, “will constitute a real threat to our borders” by 2030.
He summarised what he sees as Vladimir Putin’s strategic objective: “to weaken Europe and dismantle NATO.” However, he held back on commenting regarding whether France may need to engage militarily in Europe in the near future.
“The war is already here in Europe,” he stated simply.
Burkhard has previously given similar briefings to parliamentarians and government ministers, and has made it clear that his aim is to help foster public understanding and break what he referred to as “a form of habituation to violence.”
He made an effort to call for a “lucid” view of the international situation, warning that elsewhere in the world, the use of force and destabilisation are becoming normalised and are active weapons in modern warfare. “National cohesion cannot be achieved without awareness, if there is a denial,” he warned.
However, the general was careful not to comment on what specific efforts will be required. While the recent military programming laws have increased resources for the armed forces by several magnitudes, there are serious concerns about how sufficient these are in the face of converging and long-term crises.
Yet, he was clear about a simple strategic reality:
France must now defend itself against Russia on multiple fronts.
In space, Russia is actively manoeuvring satellites to “hinder [French] satellite trajectories, get close and jam them, get close and spy on them”.
At sea, Russian nuclear attack submarines habitually enter the North Atlantic and Mediterranean to “monitor areas that are important to us but also to the British”, damage infrastructure, and do what they can to damage our connectivity.
And in the air, Russian aircraft frequently engage in hostile behaviour towards French and Western aircraft over the Black Sea, Syria, the Mediterranean, and even in the North Atlantic.
And in cyberspace, Russia frequently attacks digital infrastructure in order to disrupt Western states, all while spreading disinformation and misinformation using bot networks and fifth columnists through social and traditional medias.
Now, with Bastille Day happening on Monday 14 July 2025, President Emmanuel Macron will be giving the traditional address to the armed forces, where we’re expecting him to “draw conclusions on defence efforts”, as per the Elysée.
But what could he say?
This briefing was not just an update. It was a deliberate shift in tone. France is entering a new strategic moment, and General Burkhard’s words were designed to lay the groundwork for a public reckoning.
President Macron has long argued that Europe must stop relying on the comfort of inherited peace, and has been an aggressive proponent for European Strategic Autonomy and rearmament.
General Burkhard’s unusually direct briefing can be seen as a coordinated moment to normalise the idea that France, and Europe more broadly, is entering a new strategic cycle of military competition and conflict.
And for Emmanuel Macron, this is not about preparing the country for immediate war, it is about preparing for the tumultuous return of what we had forgotten to the annals of history: the need to fight for our survival in the face of a dangerous, unstable Russian regime with revanchist and aggressive aims on our citizens and territories.
The general’s remarks, far from being improvised, align with Macron’s long-standing calls for strategic autonomy and a Europe that can defend itself, by itself, if necessary. These ideas, initially seen as provocative, now reflect a growing consensus in the face of Russian hostility, American unpredictability, and institutional fragility in NATO.
When Burkhard states that Russia has named France its “first enemy,” the implication is not only military but also political. France is one of the few European countries consistently pushing for greater European coordination on defence, space, cyber, and critical infrastructure.
Not only this, but President Macron, alongside Keir Starmer, has been the leader driving a significant reintegration of a post-Brexit United Kingdom into European military structures, and creating the “Coalition of the Willing” that is still exploring ways to deploy troops to ensure peace in Ukraine, following any potential ceasefire.
That assertiveness is now being recognised by Moscow as a threat, but this won’t work in Russia’s favour, with more and more European citizens recognising the dangers of the modern world and becoming increasingly comfortable with an increase in funding for European military efforts and equipment.
With any serious increase in military funding, we would expect to see much more serious funding of factories to produce equipment and munitions, which would likewise strongly increase the ability of European forces to provide much-needed munitions in conflicts like Ukraine, where logistical issues are one of the biggest weaknesses.
Inaction is no longer a viable path, and any serious strategic movement now leads toward the gradual erosion of Russia’s aggressive posture. Europe is not choosing war. It is choosing to defend peace, a peace that must now be protected, not assumed, against outright hostility.
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Chamberlain looking to the horror of WW1, was unable to look forward to what was to come. Western militaries, even with the experience of the past may not remember how rapidly WW2 evolved and Ukraine's feverish improvisation in their survival battle is probably not envisioned as most traditional planning assumes working from strength.
Putin's objective is unchanged, clear for decades, to extend the empire as far as possible, (Truman's diary hints that he contemplated letting Stalin go at least as far as France) and he will probe anywhere and everything for weakness. We still seem unwilling or unable to grasp that others do not believe as we do and fear to look a determined enemy in the face.
Russia, or at least Russian State Media, designates a different "principal enemy in Europe" every few weeks. Keeps their people clinging to the we're-surrounded-by-enemies trope that so much defines Russian identity over the centuries. All quite unremarkable, really.