IN THE NAME OF THE FRENCH FLAG

A small, deserted, uninhabited island in the heart of the Indian Ocean. Its name is Europa. This is a bit of France, 4 hours flying time from Réunion. Throughout the year, in fifty-day tours of duty, fifteen young French army soldiers take turns to maintain it and guard it. Without any possible contact with the outside world or their families. Military rituals and activities mark out the days. They must regulate nature, tend to the coconut palms. And train too. The days pass. The turtles that populate the beaches are born, die, return to the sea. Mosquitoes swirl in the air. Rain, wind and sun alternate. The men slowly blend in with this mineral world. What seemed useful on the first day becomes strange when repeated. So the men sing, pray, repaint the ropes of a boxing ring… as they wait for the plane out.