France is staging its biggest military exercises to date – an operation involving 12,000 troops including NATO allies. The first leg of the Orion 2023 war games started on 23 February and will last until 11 March. The drills come one year after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
"The geopolitical context justifies this exercise," says Yves Metayer, commander of the troop deployment division at the French chiefs of staff.
He adds that the plan has been in the works since 2020 and builds on the French Ministry of Defence's 2017 Strategic Review of Defence and National Security.
According to the website of France's Air Force, Orion 2023 is designed to become a "triennial cycle of exercises" aimed at "operational readiness" of the participating forces.
During a press conference organised by France's Ministry of Defence on 16 February, Division General Nicolas Le Nen, commander of the Joint Operations Command (CPOIA,) said that the operation is "unprecedented" and signifies "the return of major exercises on the territory."
Arnland against Mercury
According to the playbook of Orion 2023, the participating armies will simulate a conflict between two imaginary countries: Arnland and Mercury.
According to Nen, "Arnland (supported by France and its allies) is opposed to its neighbor Mercury, a country which exploits militias, while exerting a consequent military threat on the borders."
The exercises consist of four "phases," the first being operational planning, which concluded in February.
The second is an aero-maritime campaign taking place in France's southwest, which involves 7,000 soldiers from NATO partners France, the US, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the UK.
Some 2,300 military vehicles are deployed, including 40 warplanes, over 100 drones, 30 warships and France's biggest aircraft carrier the Charles De Gaulle.
Later in March, the third, more theoretical "civil-military work" phase will follow, aimed at the decision making process of political authorities faced with the crisis at hand.
Between mid-April and early May the final phase will take place in the east of France, with up to 12,000 soldiers.
'Confrontation with Russia'
Critics of the exercises say that with Orion 2023, France is in "open preparation for war with Russia."
The left wing World Socialist Web Site (WSES) points out that the exercises represent "a thinly veiled reference to Russia, as a hostile power called 'Mercury', which has invaded a French ally named 'Arnland'".
The goal of the exercise is for France and its allies to "establish a bridgehead in occupied Arnland and begin to push back Mercury forces," it says.
"Such a scenario, played out in occupied southern Ukraine or Crimea, is undoubtedly a critical part of NATO’s battlefield plans for direct confrontation with Russia," observes the WSWS.
France is not the only country currently engaging in war games. South Africa hosted military from China and Russia for exercises completed on 27 February.
In the same month the US held joint exercises with Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Botswana while Djibouti and Pakistan hosted its "Aman 23" naval drills, hosting a diverse array of players including the US, China, Indonesia, Italy, and Japan.
