Sarkozy to create a ’French Pentagon’ military HQ

by Anna Willard

PARIS – President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to regroup France’s different military commands into one new headquarters on the edge of Paris, a ministry official said on Monday.

The commands of the navy, the army, and the overall military command, will move in 2012 to one building in southwest Paris next to the existing air force command, the official said.

Around 10,000 people will be based at the new site in the Balard district, including the 5,000 already located in the air force headquarters, creating what the Le Figaro newspaper dubbed a ’French Pentagon’.

Sarkozy has already announced plans to set up a U.S.-style national security council of advisers on security matters.

The military already owns eight hectares of land at the site and plans to sell off three to finance construction, according to Le Figaro.

It will also put the central Paris buildings housing the other commands up for sale including the navy headquarters on the prestigious Place de la Concorde.

It will hang on to the Hotel de Brienne where the ministry is currently located.

The government has embarked on a series of property sales, including a 13th-century prison in southern France, to try and bring fresh money into cash-strapped state coffers.

(Reporting by Anna Willard; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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