![L’exercice militaire Orion 26, le plus important depuis la fin de la guerre froide, s’est achevé dans l’Aube et la Marne sous les yeux d’Emmanuel Macron, venu observer une armée française préparée au combat. [Aurelien Morissard / POOL / AFP]](/cdn-cgi/image/onerror=redirect,width=640,height=640,format=webp/https://storage.googleapis.com/uploads.mongoosehq.com/url/media/129632914/2835eae7ad542e8ad822b1538afa9c66349e3d54d81c7172440d9e4418c48cc5)
Overview
- Emmanuel Macron attended the exercise's finale on Thursday in Mailly‑le‑Camp and Suippes and called the drills a clear signal to allies and adversaries.
- Troops staged a helicopter raid, fired Caesar artillery, trained in trench fighting, and conducted tank sequences that included Greek Leopard crews.
- Live firing at the Suippes camp sparked a vegetation fire on Wednesday that burned about 20 hectares, and strong winds slowed containment though officials kept the presidential visit on schedule.
- The final phase brought together about 12,500 personnel with 1,800 tactical vehicles, 30 helicopters, and roughly 800 combat drones from France and six partners from Belgium, Italy, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
- Commanders highlighted lessons from Ukraine-style warfare, including heavier drone use and more discreet, mobile command posts, which could steer future French procurement and training.