Located in Lille in the north of the country, the center, called the "Land Command for Air and Land Operations in Europe" (CTE), already has about 60 servicepeople, the report said on Thursday.
The hypothesis of confrontation with Russia underlies the tasks of increasing the power of this structure, the report read, adding that one of the main tasks remains the creation of full support necessary for the army in the event of a sudden deterioration in the geopolitical context on the eastern flank.
In the spring of 2025, the French armed forces plan to conduct large-scale exercises "Dacian Spring," within the framework of which the deployment of 5,000 soldiers will be practiced, and the connection of the command center to all secret military communication channels of France and NATO will be tested.
Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly stressed that Russia has no plans to engage in conflict with Europe and called these allegations “utter nonsense." The president added that satellites of the United States are "afraid of big and strong Russia", but they do it for nothing as Russia has "no aggressive intentions against these states."