A group of serving French soldiers have published a new open letter warning Emmanuel Macron that the 'survival' of France is at stake after the President made 'concessions' to Islamism.
The letter published in the right-wing magazine Valeurs Actuelles late on Sunday echoes the tone of a similar letter printed in the same magazine last month which also warned a civil war was brewing and called for military action against 'Islamists'.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, a close ally of Macron, slammed the letter as a 'crude maneouvre' and accused its anonymous signatories of lacking 'courage'.
The previous letter, signed by 1,000 people including serving officers and some 20 semi-retired generals, warned of the 'disintegration' of France because of radical Islamic 'hordes' living in the suburbs.
The explosive letter sparked a furore in France, with Prime Minister Jean Castex called the letter an unacceptable interference while France's top general vowed that those behind it would be punished for the 'absolutely revolting' letter.
It is not clear how many people are behind the current letter or what their ranks are - and their anonymity is likely to due to the backlash faced by the authors of the previous letter, with 18 officers who signed the letter facing disciplinary action.
In contrast to the previous letter, it is also open to be signed by the public, with Valeurs Actuelles saying more than 93,000 had done so by Monday morning.
'We are not talking about extending your mandates or conquering others. We are talking about the survival of our country, the survival of your country,' said the letter, which was addressed to Macron and his cabinet.
The authors described themselves as active-duty soldiers from the younger generation of the military, a so-called 'generation of fire' that had seen active service.
'They have offered up their lives to destroy the Islamism that you have made concessions to on our soil.'
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