FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

You don't change generals mid-battle. This unwritten rule of military doctrine runs through Le Monde's coverage from the first line: George's departure was 'dictated' by Hegseth to install someone who would implement 'his own vision and that of Donald Trump.' The phrasing is surgical -- not a voluntary resignation, not a strategic disagreement invoked, but an ideological purge of military command during an active conflict. Paris watches this with a mix of disbelief and calculation. France, which has always maintained a separation between political and operational military authority -- the Fifth Republic was founded by a general who knew the cost of that boundary -- sees confirmation of its worst fears: the American military apparatus now answers to a logic of personal loyalty, not competence. The subtext is transparent in French coverage: if the United States purges its generals during wartime, that's one more reason to accelerate European strategic autonomy. CBS News broke the story before the Pentagon could announce it -- the fact that the Defense Department wasn't the one to disclose its own leadership change speaks volumes about internal chaos.