Everyboy inside ! Antiatomic if possible. The risk of destruction of the world under the effect of a “thermonuclear war” no longer only concerns the post-apocalyptic literature so popular in recent years. By announcing to alert the “deterrent force” of the Russian army, Vladimir Putin, in a very worrying way, suddenly gave it a little more consistency, even if in reality all the existing deterrent forces are constantly on alert. But soldiers – such as General Vincent Desportes, ex-director of the École de guerre – and politicians – such as François Bayrou – do not necessarily consider it unreasonable to worry about the shift towards this worst of which we are used to say it’s never safe. It is, in any case, in the space of a few days, a rather breathtaking change of program for Western Europe accustomed until then to the peaceful routine of its divisions.
Pandora’s box
Does this correspond to a profound change in the world order? And, if so, what form does this new order take? For both questions, the answer will depend first and foremost on the outcome of this war. One thing is certain, at present – if the sanctions against Russian gas persist – the United States, with its production of shale gas, sees a very interesting European market opening up before them. Countries like Algeria or even Israel could also do well in the gas field.
