"War at a distance(s), winning through contact" is the theme of this third annual colloquium on military thought organised by the Centre for Doctrine and Command Education. This meeting between civilians and soldiers aims to address the problem of the relationship between the phenomenon of "war" and the notion of distance. This is a central issue for the Army, at a time when technical developments and the practice of proxy warfare could distort the link between the armed force, the battlefield and the population.

The military is interested in the fact of war. They are constantly seeking to define its contours and requirements. They are also interested in the question of distance, which has had multiple meanings since the appearance of the crossbow, described as the Devil's weapon because it shoots from a distance. They also remember the amazement of the combatants when smokeless gunpowder appeared, making it impossible to see where the enemy was firing from.

Let us try to see a little more clearly. If we refer to the length of time that separates us from our enemy, it is the tactical distance, with a strong geographical dimension, that separates us from our enemy....that we should call together to think about how to get out of it by firing from a distance and with precision, out of sight of the enemy. Under these conditions, how can victory, often symbolized in the collective unconscious by the physical occupation of the ground by the one who won the confrontation, be achieved?

Reference could also be made to technological distance, understood in the sense of relative advance, which must be preserved in order to maintain operational superiority capable of reducing the effects of theThis is sometimes done from the outer atmosphere, nowadays almost systematically from cyberspace.

Distance must also be considered in its temporal dimension, as a gap between two moments, which is in line with the notion of sociological and historical distance. I am thus referring to military history and the importance that should be given to it in order to act today and tomorrow by relying on the work of putting things into perspective and feedback.

Finally, distance is the notable difference between individuals and things. It is then synonymous with a greater or lesser otherness, which carries the seeds of cultural, ethical and religious incomprehension, making a military enterprise that is always conducted among peoples more complicated.

These multiple variations of distance have a very direct bearing on the framework of action of the land forces because, unlike our brothers-in-arms, aviators and sailors, who serve the armies of the wakes, the army is an army of
This is a task that requires a subtle balance between the distance provided by technology and the unique familiarity, intimacy and contiguity that must be maintained with the earthly environment, which is not homogenous, particularly complex and fundamentally human.

I should like to thank Mr Matthieu Mabin, who this morning was kind enough to lead a debate based on three testimonies by soldiers returning from operations, and around a hundred young students who, I am sure, will not fail to speak during this symposium. I would also like to thank you for having responded in such large numbers to our invitation.

I invite you, through a free and courteous speech, covered by the rules of confidentiality of Chatham House, to contribute to this meeting as well. You will thus be paying tribute to those who have been carrying out this project for nearly six months, four trainee officers from the 132nd Class of the Land War College and the Doctrine and Support Divisions of the CDEC.