Non-state actors in conflict zones: the "Private Military Companies" (PMC) debate returns.

Popularized with the second conflict in Iraq by the media, which turned it into a "story-seller" synonymous with missions generally falling within the regalian domain, this notion does not have the same meaning, whether one is French or Anglo-Saxon.

 By insisting on using this term, the media are obscuring the fundamental debate on the changing security paradigm and the reality of the need for private security and defense services.And yet, these needs have become a constant in the fight against terrorism and in today's changing geopolitical context.

From SMP to ESSD

If the term PMC was the customary one, it should no longer be used today. First of all, it confuses and confuses the general public by conflating two terms that are in direct opposition. Secondly, it does not correspond to any legal reality. Lastly, it denies the industry's own regulatory mechanisms, and furthermore casts aspersions on an entire economic sector.

 Today, France has adopted the term ESSD (Entreprise de Sécurité et de Service de Défense), which seems more in line with the reality of the services offered by the few French players claiming this appellation. It allows us to understand that private companies today trade in the expertise of former "military" personnel to provide security or safety services, sometimes in a context of stabilization or on the outskirts of combat zones.This is the case for French ESSDs in charge of security for diplomatic compounds in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, such as Amarante International and GEOS Group . Others, such as Themiis - The Management Institute for International Security [1] or GROUPE CORPGUARD , have been able, within the framework of private/public contractual relations, to provide military training that is highly regulated in legal and legislative terms (export authorization from the DGA - Direction générale de l'armement , application for classification, taxation of the contract in France, payment of employees in France via contracts under French law...).

Towards an exponential emergence of "PMC's"?

In September 2021, we wrote "... With the exception of the Wagner group, contrary to certain fantasies, there does not appear to be an exponential emergence of "PMC's" active on the battlefields.

This statement now seems to have to be balanced by the emergence of several "militias" or private armies ... such as the short-lived American "Mozart Group"[2], or the Russian entity "Patriot Group" of Defense Minister Serguei Choigu.

According to Jean-Marc Four of France info[3], at least 27 private armies have been created in Russia.

In addition to the 50,000-strong Wagner group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, there is now the Chechen Ramzan Kadyrov group, estimated at 12,000 men.Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has given his blessing to a religious unit, the "Saint Andrew's Cross". Other militias include the "Sparta Battalion", the "Slavic Corps" and the "Cossack Unit", each with a few thousand men. Around 11 of these 27 militias are fighting in Ukraine.

In early February 2023, #Gazprom announced that it had been authorized to set up its own "Private Military Company"[4].The emergence of non-state actors of war intervening in complex or post-conflict zones seems to be a phenomenon that is tending to become widespread... and not just in the "East". The action of the Turkish company SADAT[5], whose presence has been observed in Syria, Libya and Upper Kahrabagh, confirms this process. The private security firm "Dyck Advisory Group", owned by former South African colonel Lionel Dyck, was also involved in the events in Cabo Delgado in April 2021.

Analysis of the phenomenon must also adapt its reading grid to the particular case of Chinese "private" security companies and the very strong influence - to say the least - of the Beijing government in their activities[6]. (Centre Français de Recherche sur le Renseignement (CF2R))

So, is it possible to have French "ESSDs"?  

While Anglo-Saxon culture, and especially American culture, is particularly favorable to the liberal dynamic of outsourcing defense services, the same cannot be said of old Europe and France.One need only compare the number of Anglo-Saxon and French private security companies providing defense services in complex areas to realize this.

According to Colonel Peer DE JONG [7], the corporatism of the Ministries of Defense and the Interior is the main obstacle to the emergence of French ESSDs. The argument is admissible, but remains weak as long as the ESSD's field of intervention only concerns training, support and back-up services (particularly logistics).

This corporatism is also present through Defense Conseil International (DCI), a parapublic operator[8] which supports arms sales contracts and has been training Saudi Special Forces in Tabouk for several years, and could be considered the only French SMP.

Défense Conseil International certainly occupies a part of the ESSD spectrum in the field of training, but only towards countries considered as partners of France, and rather in support of major arms contracts.

It should also be noted that DCI, unlike many Anglo-Saxon ESSDs, does not appear to be committed to an International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) -type governance approach.

So, for over 20 years, France has failed to create an ecosystem of Security and Defense Services Companies capable of contributing to the defense and promotion of its sovereign interests, participating in the retraining of its former military personnel, and competing with Anglo-Saxon companies in the sector.

And yet, our companies have talent (!) and can do things in compliance with the legal framework and international standards.As proof of this, between 2015 and the end of 2017, Corpguard, the company we managed, won two consecutive contracts as part of a public/private partnership with the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire.

The first contract was to carry out a security audit of all sensitive sites, i.e. armouries and ammunition bunkers in the southern half of the country.The second, on a much larger scale - €6.8 million - was aimed at equipping the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire with a military tool that would enable it to act as a stabilizing force in the sub-region and become a contributor to the international community.The second, on a much larger scale - €6.8 million - was aimed at equipping the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire with a military tool enabling it to act as a stabilizing factor in the sub-region, and to become a contributor country.

To this end, a proposal for the training of three "projectable" battalions was presented to the authorities, who in 2016 approved the training of a first pilot battalion.

Corpguard even obtained authorization from the DGA to train the equivalent of a battalion (i.e. around a thousand men) in peacekeeping operations on site for over 10 months. Up to 21 consultants - all former officers or non-commissioned officers - were deployed to train the battalion's four basic units.

On completion of this training, the battalion was deployed to Mali as part of #MINUSMA (United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali).The contract was governed by French law. It was taxed in France.The consultants all had a service provider contract under French law and were paid in France.

As part of our internal processes, a feasibility study and risk assessment were carried out prior to implementation. The service providers were trained and made aware of the risks of breaches of human rights and humanitarian law, sexual abuse and violence, modern slavery, etc. All signed an ethics charter setting out the rules of good behavior and the sanctions to which they would be exposed in the event of any breach.

Furthermore, in a spirit of cooperation and good understanding, contacts were made with the French authorities to ensure that there were no counter-indications to the implementation of this service, which was - as far as I was concerned - in line with economic patriotism and the promotion of French interests.

In March 2017, a second contract for the training of a second battalion was signed by the Minister at the time.Unfortunately, to date, and for reasons that remain unknown, this contract has never materialized. According to a certain "confidential letter"[9], it would appear that the French military authorities took a dim view of Corpguard's involvement on behalf of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire.

It would appear, however, that a second "peacekeeping" battalion was indeed formed by the American company Engility, part of the Sincerus global group[10].

In May 2020, Corpguard's training action for the RCI was referenced in the Observatoire Boutros-Ghali du maintien de la paix "Evolutions and Challenges of Peacekeeping in the Francophone Space"[11].

Challenges and prospects, regulation and governance

While various international entities now occupy theaters of war or post-conflict operations, French companies capable of providing non-combat security and defense services in compliance with international standards are nowhere to be found.This leaves the field open to other players whose level of ethics and governance is not at the level we have the right to expect, and which our French companies are able to offer.

In this way, we leave the door open for other non-state players to step in. In a context of economic warfare, they have no qualms about promoting their own powerful interests to the detriment of ours.

For over 20 years, France has been dithering over the outsourcing of certain sovereign prerogatives to private structures. This would enable the State to concentrate on major issues and delegate "secondary" services away from the battlefield.

The international governance framework exists, even if it can be improved. Unfortunately, France has not joined the initiative of the International Code of Conduct Association ( International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) ) created in 2010 by private security industry players, who initiated this approach to governance and regulation.

Seven countries[12] are currently supporting this initiative, spearheaded by the Helvetic Federation (Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, USA, Canada, Australia, UK).

Only two French companies (out of 249) claim to have brought their corporate governance into line with international standards.These are Amarante International and GROUPE CORPGUARD , both of which hold #ISO18788 certification and are certified members. A third, GEOS Group , is an affiliate member.

By not joining this dynamic initiated by the Swiss government, France is leaving the field open to other interests who will build the framework for governance without us having any say in the matter. In my view, this is highly damaging, and a major strategic error.

In 2003 - 20 years ago! - when Pierre Marziali and Ewald Wofle and I had just created SECOPEX, I wrote for the infoguerre.com website in a prophetic "Éclairage sur les SMP [14]": "in order to concentrate solely on their operational missions ... the French armed forces will have to privatize a certain number of non-combat defense functions (in the image of what is happening in the United States and Great Britain).Eventually, Private Military Companies could relieve the French armed forces of certain vital non-combat missions, and - thanks to the employment of former military or police officers - guarantee continuity [I have already mentioned the logic Eventually, Private Military Companies could relieve the French armed forces of certain vital non-combat missions, and to guarantee - through the employment of former military or police officers - continuity [I was already talking about the logic of a security continuum! Unfortunately, no one is a prophet in his own country.What a waste of time[15].

For 20 years, nothing has changed. In front of us, however, from #Wagnergroup to Mozart, a symphony orchestra is preparing its instruments and weapons, and nibbling away at our turf in a military, economic and information war, the effects of which we are constantly suffering.

At a time when high-intensity warfare is on our doorstep, when we have suffered the worst terrorist attacks on our soil in the last ten years, when a war of the weak against the strong is being waged on an almost daily basis, when we are approaching the Rugby World Cup, the Paris 2024 Olympics - 20,000 private security guards are missing - when our traditional zones of influence and trade are being called into question and are shrinking like a stone; what are we waiting for to react!?

Faced with the return of high-intensity conflicts and the security challenges facing our societies (separatism, organized crime, trafficking, migratory, energy, health, climate... societal crises) and on the eve of major sporting events, it is urgent to implement the security continuum that will enable, in good governance, all the players in the public and private sector to ensure our global security, each in his or her own role and in co-production, both within our territory and in our economic development zones.

I'm afraid we have a lot of catching up to do.We're thinking like Gamelin, when we should be thinking like Foch.Let's get to work!

David HORNUS

A founding member of Secopex (2003/2006), he founded Corpguard in 2006. He now heads Vigilantis, a firm specializing in economic security. He was elected for 3 years (2019/2022) to the position of Director Europe-UK for the private security industry at ICoCA, which he joined at its creation in 2009. Corpguard was the 4th French company to achieve ISO 18788 certification in 2018. He is the author of Danger Zone, published by Balland, in which he looks back on his career and the security and defense missions to which he has contributed.