Christian's article, "Dare to Think Differently," encouraged a break with entrenched certainties and the acceptance that reflection on veterans' associations and veterans' associations can no longer be satisfied with dogmas inherited from the past. It paved the way for a necessary debate, based on questioning and intellectual courage.
Antoine's text, which follows, continues in this vein but goes further by confronting the stated principles with the concrete realities of veterans' associations in the 21st century. Its author highlights the contradictions of a discourse that claims to revitalize while refusing to adapt to social, human, and territorial changes.
This is neither about denying the heritage nor weakening the Legionnaire identity, but about remembering that an institution that demands adherence without freedom and loyalty without listening risks isolation. This contribution is intended as a clear-eyed warning, in service of vibrant, useful associations faithful to the spirit of fraternity they claim to uphold.
Louis Perez y Cid.

By Antoine Marquet (Lt. Colonel TE – er)
The text currently circulating, penned by a general officer, paints a picture of veterans' associations that seems frozen in the cement of the last century. In 2026, as the world has shifted towards hyper-connectivity, mobility, and individual autonomy, this project of "taking back control" resembles more of a semantic utopia than a concrete response to the realities on the ground. Read more...

The reactions sparked by writings on the JAL reveal less a simple disagreement than a deeper difficulty in accepting the plurality of perspectives. Faced with positions often asserted as self-evident truths, it became necessary to open a space for free reflection, liberated from dogma and postures of moral authority.

Here, we do not seek to decide, much less to oppose, but to reiterate a fundamental requirement: no experience, however respectable, can be transformed into an immutable truth. Refusing debate, or forcing it, amounts to freezing an institution that cannot survive without lucidity and self-questioning.
This text by Christian is part of this desire to question, sometimes to raise awareness, and to defend the idea that honoring heritage does not preclude doubt or evolution. Quite the contrary.
Louis Perez y Cid

By Christian Morisot.

It is important to give one's opinion, to react freely and personally to the numerous written comments on the "JAL" (Journal d'Appel à Ligne - Legal Advice Journal) which have sparked a real controversy among the self-proclaimed "guardians of the temple." I cannot remain indifferent, but I question the criteria that should be applied, the true value on which our responses should be based, considering that, by the principle of precaution, there is never absolute truth in what we assert. In short, each participant offers their very personal opinion, drawing on their own experiences, in a variety of conclusions and assertions imposed by biased opinions that demonstrate a lack of fairness. Read more...

Between impeccably organized traditions… and evolutions that overflow the boundaries. Associations of former legionnaires were created to bring together those who have experienced something that can never truly be explained to others. A story of mud, fatigue, brotherhood… and memories that are only half-told, because the other half is either guessed or left unsaid.
Officially, they talk about ceremonies, flags, and traditions. Unofficially, everyone knows that the essence lies elsewhere: in the phone call made at the right moment, the drink shared for no good reason, and that strange connection that sometimes allows you to understand each other without finishing sentences. In short, the Legion spirit doesn't reside in statutes. It circulates among people and likes to take shortcuts.
Each association has its own character. Garrison town, deep countryside, or remote corner of the world, each tells a different story. This is what makes them so valuable… and sometimes leads to endless meetings.

Read more...

By Louis Perez y Cid
One evening in 1915, in a world that had just plunged into the Great War, a young German soldier named Hans Leip* was preparing to leave the city to join the front.

He was a poet, enlisted out of a sense of duty.
He walked slowly toward the exit of the barracks, his heart heavy.
Under a lantern, at a street corner, a young woman was waiting for him.
The light cast a trembling halo around her, like a promise.
They said goodbye, simply, without knowing if they would ever see each other again.
That evening, Hans engraved this image in his heart.
From this emotion was born a poem, "Lied eines jungen Wachpostens," in English, Song of a Young Sentry. A few lines about a soldier on duty, thinking of the one he loved under the lantern. He gives it a name: Lili Marleen, a blend of two first names, two memories, two women who were important to him. But, out of superstition, he doesn't write the last stanza. Fate will choose it.

Then the war sweeps everything away. Nine million dead and missing. Twenty-one million wounded. And, as if that weren't enough, the Spanish flu claims forty million more lives, five percent of humanity.
The poem, however, remains in a drawer, forgotten like a secret of the soul.
The years pass. Read more...

The following lines are based on key facts, dates, and episodes from our recent history.

Christian reminds us how certain political decisions, strategic compromises, and collective blindness have shaped France into what it is today.
On several occasions, our country has ignored the warning signs offered by events, from the end of colonial empires to contemporary identity crises, from postwar reconstruction to the fractures of the present.
These reminders seek neither automatic agreement nor the comfort of consensus; they aim to place our debates within the context of events.
Understanding history is not a nostalgic exercise; it is what prevents us from repeating the same mistakes.
Our friend wrote this text to reactivate this vigilance, not to create controversy, but to awaken collective memory.
For a nation that ceases to question its past allows others to write its future.
Louis Perez y Cid

By Christian Morisot
Like many of us, our ideas, convictions, and commitments begin in our minds, very early and at a young age, through our reading. In fact, it all started when I realized that it was sometimes wise to seek a change of scenery when the surrounding air is saturated with mediocrity. Today, as I write this letter to you, I know from experience that writing is a commitment, that a "violence of the pen" is a boldness that attracts some fervent sympathy and, unfortunately, a great deal of hatred. Read more...

The term ended.
The teacher gathered his students one last time, now mature enough to reflect.

"You have seen three models," he said.

"Equality without effort, competition without limits, and the balance of shared merit.

This path, my children, is that of our continent." He stood up, his expression grave.

"France believed in equality, the United Kingdom in merit,

the Nordic countries found a certain balance.

But tomorrow, what if we managed to unite these forces beyond national borders? Read more...

A few weeks later, the teacher proposed a third model.

“We’re going to try a fairer system. Merit will count, but so will solidarity.” The students looked at each other, intrigued.

“Your grades,” he explained, “will depend half on your personal effort and half on the class average. You’re all connected, just like in real life.”
On the first test, everyone worked together, helping each other, discussing, and reviewing as a group. Marie explained, Lucas persevered, and Tom finally listened.
The average rose to 14.
On the second test, some students slacked off, and the average dropped to 10.
But instead of complaining, the class reacted.
They organized themselves, supported each other, and bonded.
Little by little, everyone found their place. Read more...

In the same peaceful school, the following day, the economics teacher wanted to show the other extreme.

“In previous lessons, we looked at socialism,” he said.

“Today, let’s talk about capitalism, the justice of merit. Here, there will be no artificial equality; only effort will count. Work will be rewarded, mediocrity condemned.”
A heavy silence fell.
Marie, lively and bright, felt her blood boil; she wanted to win.
Lucas, tenacious but ordinary, felt anxiety creeping in.
Tom, dreamy and distracted, lowered his head; he sensed his defeat.
The first test was a shock; the best students triumphed, the others fell.
The second test turned into an arena. Some trembled, others rejoiced.
The third test ... Read more...

I received an email from a friend with an attachment, intended for wide distribution. No signature, no context: this initially inspired a certain repulsion in me. Nevertheless, I opened the document.

It described the supposedly “egalitarian” experiment of a middle school class, presented as a miniature version of our society—a highly caricatured vision, of course.
Upon reading it, it became clear to me that the opposite could just as easily be demonstrated.
This is how I came up with the idea of ​​rewriting this text through four educational experiments conducted by an economics teacher. He invites his students to experience, from the inside, the major models that govern our nations: absolute equality, pure merit, the balance between the two, and then the union of forces in service of a common ideal.
One experiment per day. Read more...