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Thousands of serving French soldiers have signed a letter accusing Emmanuel Macron of surrendering to Islamists, The Sun reports. 

The warning published in right-wing magazine Valeurs Actuelles, claims France is on the brink of civil war as a result of the President's failure to tackle the extremists.

The move follows that of 20 retired generals in the same publication, who also claimed "civil war" would erupt without firm action.

The authors described themselves as soldiers from the younger generation of the military, a so-called "generation of fire" that had seen active service.

Prime Minister Jean Castex said that the letter was a "political manoeuvre" by the "extreme right" ahead of Presidential elections

But the move was welcomed by Marine Le Pen, leader of the right-wing National Rally party, who is widely seen as Macron’s main challenger in the race.

According to Valeurs Actuelles around 2,000 young servicemen and women had signed the second letter.

It compared Macron, 43, and his government to the wartime Nazi collaborators and the officers who signed the first letter to heroic Resistance fighters.

“We are talking about the survival of our country, the survival of your country," said the latest letter, which was addressed to Macron and his cabinet.

The letter said the soldiers “have offered up their lives to destroy the Islamism that you have made concessions to on our soil”.

The soldiers charged that for some religious communities "France means nothing but an object of sarcasm, contempt or even hatred".

"If a civil war breaks out, the military will maintain order on its own soil... civil war is brewing in France and you know it perfectly well," the letter said.