a campaign visual earns General Christophe Gomart, LR candidate, a call from the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces

Several political figures were moved by the wearing of a military uniform by General Christophe Gomard on campaign visuals for the Les Républicains party, which is not permitted.

Barely an LR candidate in the European elections, General Christophe Gomart finds himself at the heart of a controversy. The controversy even earned him a phone call from the chief of staff of the armed forces, according to information from franceinfo from a source close to the matter. It all starts from a campaign visual broadcast by LR on X on Tuesday. We see the former director of military intelligence and former special operations commander in his uniform.

“Campaigning in uniform? It is both illegal in France and inappropriate in Europe”was moved on X Nathalie Loiseau, MEP from the Horizons party. The deputy and spokesperson for the National Rally, Laurent Jacobelli, questioned the Minister of the Armed Forces. “Are you going to authorize the wearing of the uniform on an electoral document? It is strictly prohibited”he said to Sébastien Lecornu on the same social network.

This campaign visual also caused a reaction from the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Thierry Burkhard. The latter called General Christophe Gomart. The decree of December 14, 2007 relating to the wearing of military uniform by reservists of the military reserve stipulates that it is prohibited to wear military clothing “on the occasion of any activity or demonstration of a union or political nature”. General Christophe Gomart is concerned, since he is no longer in active service.

“A royalty-free photo”

“It seems that the error comes more from the party than from him,” commented a government source to franceinfo. “We used this photo because it is copyright free on the internet”, explains the entourage of Éric Ciotti, the president of the right-wing party. Still, according to President LR’s entourage, it is a false controversy. “It’s like the tricolor flag: we don’t have the right to use it on an official poster but we can use it on our visuals”he assures.

For LR, all this above all reflects the feverishness of its opponents. “It amuses us that it is exploited”observes the same source. “It shows their anger because he has a very interesting profile given his experience”, she adds. The right-wing party was also, for a time, in contact with Fabrice Leggeri, former director of Frontex, according to corroborating sources at franceinfo. The latter preferred to join the RN list, also in third place.