At 47, Cédric, a former soldier, shares his experience of sanctions in the army and sets the record straight on this subject which fuels rumors and fantasies in the minds of the French.
For years, Cédric lived to the rhythm of secret missions, extreme training and iron discipline. A former combat swimmer, he has long evolved in the shadows, at the heart of the action. But one day, everything changed, forcing him to change his life and retrain. He gave us his story of his years within the Grande Muette. The opportunity to discuss with him a very tough myth in the imagination of the French concerning the army: that of sanctions.
Before talking about sanctions in the army, Cédric wants to provide an important nuance. These are not punishments in the strict sense, but sanctions. And often, they don’t fall on a single head. “Often, sanctions are collective“, he clarified. The goal? To forge solidarity and team spirit. An individual error can have serious consequences on a mission, and it is the whole group that pays the price. “One person who makes a mistake punishes the whole group“, he explained. A system which may seem harsh, but which pushes everyone to watch over others, to reinforce this vital collective vigilance in operations.
And those who imagine scenes of humiliation at the Full Metal Jacket reassure themselves: this is not the style of the house. “Punishments, as you say, are never humiliations. It’s more about going outside, while you’re in winter… Everyone is going to get wet, even though it’s 3 degrees. It will be doing push-ups or running around a building carrying somewhat heavy loads.“, he listed.
“What is important is the strength of the collective. Everyone must check everyone’s work. We must be vigilant to everyone in the group so that the group is not sanctioned“, he wants to clarify. But despite the sweat, the fatigue and the polar temperatures, Cédric admitted with a touch of nostalgia: “that in hindsight, it’s always funny“. Not sure, however, that all his ex-comrades have exactly the same memory, but everyone has their own experience.
