Is Stéphane Abrial the French pilot who shot down Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 on 27 June 1980? General Stéphane Abrial, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, NATO FRANCE 24 - 14/05/2012 - THE INTERVIEW | What will be the impact of François Hollande's election on France's role in NATO? What is NATO's withdrawal strategy from Afghanistan? And what impact will European defence cuts have on NATO's operations? General Stéphane Abrial, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, tells France 24's Philip Crowther what challenges lie ahead for the Atlantic Alliance, just days before the NATO summit in Chicago. Latest update: 15/05/2012 - Afghanistan - Europe - NATO THE INTERVIEW An interview with a French or international personality from the world of economics, politics, culture or diplomacy. Monday to Thursday at 9.45 pm. http://www.france24.com/en/20120514-interview-general-stephane-abrial-supreme-allied-commander-transformation-nato-afghanistan-europe-defence Stéphane Abrial (French pronunciation: [abʁiɑl]), born on 7 September 1954 in the South-Western French region of Armagnac, is a French General who is the Commander of Allied Command Transformation based in Norfolk, VA, one of the two NATO strategic commands. His previous posting was as the Chief of Staff of the French Air Force.[1] French Military career General Stéphane Abrial graduated in 1973 from the French Air Force academy (the Ecole de l'Air), and in 1974 from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He completed pilot training at the French Air Force Academy in 1976. From 1977 to 1991, he served as a fighter pilot both in France (in Cambrai, Dijon and Orange) and, from 1981 to 1984, in a West German Luftwaffe unit. In 1988, he assisted the Greek Air Force in converting its first unit equipped with the Mirage 2000. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%A9phane_Abrial The French Air Force (French: Armée de l'Air (ALA), literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. After an absence lasting several decades, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed that France will rejoin the NATO integrated command.[2] France has also been a lead nation, alongside the USA, Great Britain and Italy in implementing the UN sponsored no-fly zone in Libya, deploying 20 fighter aircraft to Benghazi in defense of rebel held positions and the civilian population. Central Command The President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, is Chief of the armed forces, responsible for the overall defence policy. The Prime Minister is responsible for national defence and the Minister of Defence is responsible for the execution of the military policy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Air_Force The president of France is also the ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, Grand Master of the Légion d'honneur and the Ordre national du Mérite and honorary proto-canon of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. The current President of the Republic is François Hollande, who took office on 15 May 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_France François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa ʔɔlɑ̃d]; born 12 August 1954) is the 24th and current President of France and ex-officio Co-Prince of Andorra since 15 May 2012. Hollande was born in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Upper Normandy, to a middle-class family. His mother, Nicole Frédérique Marguerite Tribert (1927--2009), was a social worker, and his father, Georges Gustave Hollande, an ear, nose, and throat doctor who "had once run for the extreme right in local politics".[3][4][5][6][7] The surname "Hollande" is "believed to come from Calvinist ancestors who escaped Holland (the Netherlands) in the 16th century and took the name of their old country."[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Hollande From their first incursion into the lower valley of the Seine in 841,[4] the Vikings overran Rouen until some of them finally settled and founded a colony led by Rollo (Hrolfr), who was nominated count of Rouen by the king of the Franks in 911. In the 10th century Rouen became the capital of the Duchy of Normandy and residence of the dukes, until William the Conqueror established his castle at Caen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouen The Duchy of Normandy stems from various Danish, Norwegian, Hiberno-Norse, Orkney Viking and Anglo-Danish (from the Danelaw) invasions of France in the 9th century. A fief, probably as a county, was created by the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte in 911 out of concessions made by King Charles, and granted to Rollo, leader of the Vikings known as Northmen (or in Latin Nortmanni). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Normandy Norman law refers to the customary law of Normandy which developed between the 10th and 13th centuries following the establishment of the Vikings there and which survives today still through the legal systems of Jersey and Guernsey in the Channel Islands. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_law

• published: 17 May 2012
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