Posted on 04/17/2016 3:48:53 PM PDT by RoosterRedux
On the cobbled alleyways of Montmartre, as a busker warbled La Vie en Rose and street artists painted watercolours of the view over Paris, Master Corporal Jean-Claude had been up since dawn leading a platoon of soldiers on patrol in full camouflage and flak jackets with fingers resting lightly near the triggers of their assault rifles.
“Our mission is to protect, dissuade and reassure,” he said in clipped tones, as his men from the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment, normally based in Brittany, snaked past pavement cafes, tour groups and couples kissing, scanning all around for bombs or terrorists.
A young man leapt forward to ask for a selfie with the bizarre, yet now commonplace, sight of combat troops on the streets of Paris. “Sorry, rules don’t allow it,” said a senior officer who had spent most of his career serving in difficult war zones he was not allowed to name.
Children stared open-mouthed at the guns. Locals smiled and the occasional tourist came forward to ask for directions to famous landmarks. “I’m not from Paris but I’m slowly getting to know the place and I always try to help,” said a heavily armed junior soldier who grew up in rural Normandy.
After last year’s terrorist attacks on Paris, the president, François Hollande, declared that France was at war and swiftly saturated the streets of main cities with soldiers standing guard in full military fatigues to make people feel more secure. The now permanent presence of thousands of soldiers in khaki across the capital and major cities has transformed the image and mood of France.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Those troops are there to defend the Mooslims from evil Islamophobes.
Well, we can’t let those paranoid islamaphobes express their fears, can we?
“Master Corporal Jean-Claude”
What the h**l is a “Master Corporal?
One stripe with a rocker?
Meant to say two stripes
Caporel-chef. They make the sauces.
Two ranks below the Sous Chef!
Come on! It’s France! Cheese-eating Surrender Monkeys. I’m not impressed. They’ll end up shooting the innocent and letting the bad guys get away. ;)
I saw this when I was in Paris last July, soldiers everywhere especially in the main tourist attractions.
Robert Clary a survivor in life and entertainment
"Disproportionate Response!
oh, and Death to America!"
Looks like it may be the equivalent of a lance corporal in the US marines. Or perhaps a specialist in the US Army. Third step up in the enlisted ranks.
Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
Unfortunately the war is already lost in France. The let the muslims win without firing a shot.
-—difficult war zones he was not allowed to name-—
Neverland, Field of Dreams, Nowhere
What kind of rifle are they carrying in the photos in the article? It’s some kind of bullpup, FN probably, but it has a weird barrel.
One step closer to a police state.
Apparently that is preferable to admitting islam is the enemy of the people & state.
Very interesting article!
As a woman of German Jewish ancestry, I salute him!
When my relatives came here in the early 1900’s, it was MUCH easier to pretend to be a Boring Lutheran Nobody...so I come from a long line of Boring Lutherans, even though I like to think I carry, ‘some of their baggage’ in my blood. ;)
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