French troops could use Cyprus for decompression

A STEADY stream of French troops may soon begin arriving in Cyprus as a stop-off to help them adjust to normal life after the stress of frontline fighting.

French troops, who are active in several combat zones, have never been offered such a scheme, which is now being touted at the highest levels of the Defence Ministry in Paris.

British, Canadian and Dutch troops already use the island for decompression periods, designed to prepare them for a return to family life.

“The idea is not to celebrate for three days,” says Commander Christophe Prazuck, spokesman for the French Defence staff.

“Other nations that believe in the long term it works,” he added

News media in France are speculating that Cyprus has been earmarked for the scheme, which is still in the planning stages.

Prazuck said feedback suggests that a few days of transition had proved effective for other armies.

However, the idea has received the cold-shoulder from many serving French officers, who favour a direct-return to home life.

“After six months away from home, we do not want to lose another three days before returning to our wives and kids. If they want to make things right with our families, why not incorporate them into the process?” an NCO told the Parisian newspaper.

Thousands of British soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq have already passed through the British bases in Cyprus on their way home.

They stay on the island for between 27 and 48 hours.

The British decompression project has been so successful that it is now standard practice for all home-bound combat troops.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.