ABSTRACT
The National Intelligence Strategy published by the National Intelligence Coordination for the Fight Against Terrorism was personally approved by President Emmanuel Macron. A comparison with the organisation’s first five-year ‘road map’ indicated a critical turn. Calls have been made within the political and military establishments for a deeper restructuring of the armed forces and a fundamental re-definition of their role to make domestic security one of their core functions. Some of the most basic civil liberties and human rights are threatened by the domestic deployment of the armed forces. In a parliamentary democracy it is generally assumed that the final authority rests with civilian rule, secured by parliamentary control over the military budget. Today’s utilisation of alleged terrorist threats or potential political upheaval to erode traditional civil liberties, and argue for greater domestic use of the military, raises disturbing historical experiences.
