Everything is false. However, this video, in which a man claims that “the French government is sending him by force to Ukrainian soil”, has already been viewed more than 1.3 million times on TikTok and has sparked a number of worried comments. If some Internet users have detected the deception, others are alarmed: “the French government has taken us for sheep since Covid-19”, writes one of them, while another urges the author to the video to “refuse”.
In this one-minute video, the man claims to have received a summons from “a justice commissioner”, so that he “joins the army in the 16th battalion of foot hunters in the Vosges to go to the front of war in Ukraine. An impossible situation currently, because France has not sent and is not sending soldiers to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion of the country.
No, Russia has not declared war on France
The man also claims that this summons was sent to him “following Russia’s declaration of war on France”. Once again a fanciful assertion, Russia having not declared war on France.
According to the man, who uses the pseudonym “leprince_souleyman”, the summons specifies that he faces five years in prison and a fine of up to 500,000 euros in the event of refusal.
To be mobilized, a summons is not enough
Contrary to what is stated in this video, in peacetime, not just any adult can be summoned to serve under the flag. Only professional soldiers and reservists can be, as explained by the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs in 20 Minutes : “If no mobilization is decreed, only the armies can be mobilized. If necessary, they can call on volunteer military reservists. »
A mobilization is not decreed by a simple letter sent to citizens. “If exceptional circumstances required mobilization, it would be decided by decrees taken by the Council of Ministers,” adds the ministry. These decrees are signed by the President of the Republic.
” Fake news “
If it is decided, the mobilization “can be general or partial”. It is the Minister of the Armed Forces who “is then responsible for transmitting and notifying the mobilization order to the various interested civil and military authorities”.
In the event of general mobilization, “any person not exempt from military obligations, except for conscientious objection” is called.
Contacted, this Internet user did not respond to our requests. The ministry for its part “strongly condemns the dissemination of this type of content, which is deliberately misleading and intended to generate engagement on the basis of false information”.
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