Political life in France is currently undergoing a profound renewal. The French people have enthusiastically aspired to this change and brought it about with determination. It will have practical implications for how our parliament does its work. A new mentality, new topics of discussion, with doubtless new expressions, all signs that our representative democracy is constantly able to draw upon its own resources to re-establish its legitimacy for the benefit of all citizens. Nevertheless, our definition of the common good, our country’s interests, and the imperatives of our strategic autonomy have not changed. Today, as in the past, they must be defended with tenacity, reason and efficacy, even as our geo-strategic environment suffers major upsets and the well-being of our social and cultural commitments is called into question by extremist and violent ideology. The parliamentarians in this new legislature will forthrightly take on these challenges, regardless of their political affiliations. This will especially be the case for the work of the Commission on Defence and the Armed Forces, on which I have served relentlessly for many years, and which I now have the honour to chair.

As part of the edifice of government policies, some pillars bear more weight than others. Defence and the armed forces are part of this. The Ministry of the Armed Forces is a sovereign entity. We should doubtless review the implications of this oft-used expression whose meaning is not always understood properly. What is sovereign is what pertains wholly to the State and cannot be delegated. This clearly leads us to the notion of sovereignty, a concept we are called upon to defend collectively by knowing how to articulate our national interests in the context of a common European destiny. The tasks awaiting the new Commission on Defence and the Armed Forces in parliament will be complex, intense and full of long-term implications for France. Our armed forces committed on every front, deserve our confidence and our support. That confidence must be demonstrated by concrete measures, and our support by unfailing efforts in terms of the balance that must exist between missions and resources. The work of the previous commission, chaired by Patricia Adam, was unanimously praised, and justifiably so. Allow me to emphasize here the extent to which the operation of this parliamentary body depends on its full engagement. The visits made to our forces on the ground, the variety of parliamentary reports, the ever-increasing number of forthright and detailed hearings mean that the Commission on Defence now has an essential role in the common effort to constantly protect our land, our people and the interests of our nation. I am very proud to be its chairman at a strategic time when France is demonstrating the power for advancement that it can and must have in Europe and worldwide.

Our national defence, to be legitimate and effective, requires an informed and on-going strategic debate. For the past 15 years, these Summer Defence Conferences have provided a major forum for this debate. The French parliament’s Commission on Defence and the Armed Forces has cooperated with this forum since its start, working closely with the Senate’s Commission on Defence and Foreign Affairs. Coming together in one place and time allow us to find common ground. This facilitates the joint work of our commissions. The discussions we have had with our foreign counterparts, already valuable, will be all the more so in the critical years ahead. By bringing together operational managers, members of parliament and industrialists for frank and focused discussions, the Summer Defence Conference offers grounds where best practices can be renewed, and where new perspectives and inventive solutions can emerge. I am certain this 2017 conference will, in that sense, be every bit as productive as the preceding sessions for the greater benefit of our common defence.