Will Emmanuel Macron have his Henry Kissinger? During the presidential campaign, the working group in charge of its defense program worked on a reform of strategic affairs at the Elysée. As revealed by the specialized media Intelligence Online, this cell, which included the deputies Jean-Michel Jacques and Laetitia Saint-Paul – referent of the military aspect of the program -, but also Admiral Bernard Rogel, chief of staff of the President of the Republic between 2016 and 2020 , proposed the creation of a French-style National Security Council (NSC). In the United States, this body placed with the president, which was directed by Kissinger or Condoleeza Rice before their passage to the government, coordinates the national policy as regards diplomacy and defense. The Head of State is considering transposing the idea, subject to a few adjustments. The reform would upset the current functioning of the institutions since bodies such as the special staff, the intelligence coordinator or the diplomatic cell of the Castle would be overhauled.
The proposal is not new, far from it. “It’s the sea serpent, reacts Philippe Hayez, former deputy director of intelligence at the DGSE and lecturer at Sciences po. The first time I heard of a French NSC was in 1981 , by Jean-Louis Gergorin, who worked at the Analysis and Forecasting Council of the Quai d’Orsay.” At the time, Jacques Attali, seduced by the project, tried to convince François Mitterrand, in vain. The hypothesis rebounded in 2007. Michel Rocard and Alain Bauer delivered a long plea “for a National Security Council”, in the National Defense Review, in October. “We thought that the world had changed, and that special coordination of strategic issues was needed. Hence this National Security Council, which would have had around sixty people, plus a group of intermittent experts”, says Alain Bauer. At the time, President Sarkozy was thrilled. His diplomatic adviser, Jean-David Levitte and the particular staff, less. “For them, it was an unbearable intrusion into their sector,” recalls the criminologist. The project itself ends up being buried, but some steps towards more coordination between diplomacy, defense and internal security are well done. “We merged the General Intelligence and the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance, we expanded the Defense Council, we reformed the General Secretariat for Defense and National Security, we created the National Intelligence Council”, lists Alain Bauer.
“New Heavyweight”
The project of the “Rogel-Saint-Paul” group aims to strengthen the supervision of the Elysée over strategic affairs, while the management of Mali or the conflict in Ukraine by the agencies has been deemed to be perfectible to say the least. The intelligence services, the diplomatic unit and the particular staff would be encouraged to come together. Reports would be reported to the President at regular intervals. “It’s a reform that would mark the presidentialization of the regime,” notes diplomat François Heisbourg, responsible for designing Emmanuel Macron’s defense program in 2017. At the time, his cell questioned the relevance of this structure. , without ultimately offering their creation to the candidate.
If the political situation has probably never been so favorable to a National Security Council, it will probably be necessary to override the opposition of the major departments, which would find themselves dispossessed of part of their perimeter of competence. This French “NSC” would also suppose the creation of a post of national security adviser, who could overshadow the ministers and closest collaborators. The names of Admiral Rogel and Laurent Nuñez are already circulating. “We would have a new heavyweight at the Elysée, does the president really want that? We would have to find the right person”, analyzes François Heisbourg. In Macronie, major reforms are rarely unrelated to human resources issues.