Massive military exercise in southern France prepares soldiers for high-intensity warfare

The French army has mobilized the 'Charles-de-Gaulle' aircraft carrier and over a thousand land and sea vehicles in an unprecedented large-scale military simulation.
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The exercise is on an unprecedented scale. From February 23 to March 11, some 7,000 soldiers, mainly French but also British, Spanish and American, will simulate an amphibious and airborne landing between Castres and Sète.

The objective of this training exercise in real conditions, which will extend over 14 of France's departments, is to "win a foothold" in a fictitious country called "Arnland" in the grip of destabilization orchestrated by militias supported by a hostile state named "Mercury." The Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier, two amphibious helicopter carriers, and more than 20 other surface ships and submarines are involved, as well as more than 1,000 land vehicles.
Dubbed "Orion," the joint exercise has been in preparation since 2020 but was expanded by the French general staff following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in order to approximate potential ground conditions and train French forces for high-intensity conflict. "We have never done an exercise of this magnitude over such a long period of time," said General Yves Métayer, in charge of planning the operation within the army. To practice uncertainty management, the enemy will have an autonomous command center that will make its decisions according to the evolution of troops on the ground and not from a script written in advance.