Who decides? Political authorities or the army? During the Third and Fourth Republic, political authorities were very careful not to enter the ‘sacred perimeter’ of generals, i.e. the conduct of military operations. Under the influence of General de Gaulle, the Fifth Republic took a major turn regarding the relations between civilian and military authorities. The political order took precedence over the military order. It is quite obvious that the civilian power cannot control a single structure of the Department of Defense. Yet, the notion that the civilian power would endorse the proposals of the Chiefs of Staff without discussion is far from the reality.