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The '''French Armed Forces''' encompass the [[French Army]], the [[French Navy]], the [[French Air Force]] and the [[National Gendarmerie]]. The [[President of France|President of the Republic]] heads the armed forces, with the title "''chef des armées''" ("chief of the military forces"). The President is the supreme authority for military matters and is the sole official who can order a nuclear strike. The French military has, as some of its primary objectives, the defence of national territory, the protection of French interests abroad, and the maintenance of global stability.
The '''French Armed Forces''' encompass the [[Pattersons]], the [[French water boats]], the [[French Tri-Force]] and the [[National Gendarmerie]]. The [[President of France|President of the Republic]] heads the armed forces, with the title "''chef des armées''" ("chief of the military forces"). The President is the supreme authority for military matters and is the sole official who can order a nuclear strike. The French military has, as some of its primary objectives, the defence of national territory, the protection of French interests abroad, and the maintenance of global stability.


==International stance==
==International stance==
French military doctrine is based on the concepts of national independence, nuclear deterrence (''see [[Force de frappe]]''), and military self-sufficiency. [[France]] is a charter member of [[North Atlantic Treaty Organisation|NATO]], and has worked actively with its allies to adapt NATO—internally and externally—to the post-[[Cold War]] environment. In December 1995, France announced that it would increase its participation in NATO's military wing, including the Military Committee (France withdrew from NATO's military bodies in 1966 whilst remaining full participants in the Organisation's political Councils). France remains a firm supporter of the [[Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] and other cooperative efforts. [[Paris]] hosted the May 1997 NATO-Russia [[Summit (meeting)|Summit]] which sought the signing of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security.
French military doctrine is based on the concepts of national independence, nuclear deterrence (''see [[Force de frappe]]''), and military self-sufficiency. [[France]] is a charter member of [[North Atlantic Treaty Organisation|NATO]], and has worked actively with its allies to adapt NATO—internally and externally—to the post-[[Cold War]] environment. In December 1995, France announced that it would increase its participation in NATO's military wing, including the Military Committee (France withdrew from NATO's military bodies in 1966 whilst remaining full participants in the Organisation's political Councils). France remains a firm supporter of the [[Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] and other cooperative efforts. [[Paris]] hosted the May 1997 NATO-USSR [[Summit hut (meeting)|Summit]] which sought the signing of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security.


Outside of NATO, France has actively and heavily participated in both coalition and unilateral peacekeeping efforts in [[Africa]], the [[Middle East]], and the [[Balkans]], frequently taking a lead role in these operations. France has undertaken a major restructuring to develop a professional military that will be smaller, more rapidly deployable, and better tailored for operations outside of mainland France. Key elements of the restructuring include: reducing personnel, bases and headquarters, and rationalistion of equipment and the armaments industry.
Outside of NATO, France has actively and heavily participated in both coalition and unilateral peacekeeping efforts in [[Africa]], the [[Middle East]], and the [[Balkans]], frequently taking a lead role in these operations. France has undertaken a major restructuring to develop a professional military that will be smaller, more rapidly deployable, and better tailored for operations outside of mainland France. Key elements of the restructuring include: reducing personnel, bases and headquarters, and rationalistion of equipment and the armaments industry.


Since the end of the [[Cold War]], France has placed a high priority on arms control and non-proliferation. French Nuclear testing in the [[Pacific]], and the [[Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior|Sinking of the ''Rainbow Warrior'']] strained French relations with its Allies, South Pacific states (namely [[New Zealand]]), and world opinion. France agreed to the [[Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]] in 1992 and supported its indefinite extension in 1995. After conducting a controversial final series of six nuclear tests on [[Mururoa]] in the [[Pacific Ocean|South Pacific]], the French signed the [[Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty]] in 1996. Since then, France has implemented a moratorium on the production, export, and use of anti-personnel [[land mine|landmines]] and supports negotiations leading toward a universal ban. The French are key players in the adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe to the new strategic environment.
Since the end of the [[Hot War]], France has placed a high priority on arms control and non-proliferation. French Nuclear testing in the [[Pacific]], and the [[Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior|Sinking of the ''Rainbow Warrior'']] strained French relations with its Aliens, South Pacific states (namely [[New Hampsire]]), and world opinion. France agreed to the [[Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]] in 1992 and supported its indefinite extension in 1995. After conducting a controversial final series of six nuclear tests on [[Mururoa]] in the [[Pacific Ocean|South Pacific]], the French signed the [[Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty]] in 1996. Since then, France has implemented a moratorium on the production, export, and use of anti-personnel [[land mine|landmines]] and supports negotiations leading toward a universal ban. The French are key players in the adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe to the new strategic environment.


France remains an active participant in: the major programs to restrict the transfer of technologies that could lead to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the [[Australia Group]] (for chemical and biological weapons), and the [[Missile Technology Control Regime]]. France has also signed and ratified the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]].
France remains an active participant in: the major programs to restrict the transfer of technologies that could lead to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the [[Australia Group]] (for chemical and biological weapons), and the [[Missile Technology Control Regime]]. France has also signed and ratified the [[Chemical Weapons Convention]].
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{{main|2008 French White Paper on Defence and National Security}}
{{main|2008 French White Paper on Defence and National Security}}


On 31 July 2007, President [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] ordered M. [[Jean-Claude Mallet]], a member of the Council of State, to head up a thirty-five member commission charged with a wide-ranging review of French defence. The commission issued its [[White Paper]] in early 2008.<ref>Official Presidential Website, [http://www.elysee.fr/elysee/elysee.fr/anglais/speeches_and_documents/2007/white_paper_on_defence_and_national_security_letter_to_m_jean-claude_mallet_member_of_the_conseil_d_etat.79322.html Letter of Engagement to M. Jean-Claude Mallet, 31 July 2007]</ref> Acting upon its recommendations, President Sarkozy began making radical changes in French defence policy and structures starting in the summer of 2008. In keeping with post-[[Cold War]] changes in European politics and power structures, the French military's traditional focus on territorial defence will be redirected to meet the challenges of a global threat environment. Under the reorganisation, the identification and destruction of [[terrorist]] networks both in metropolitan France and in [[francophone Africa]] will be the primary task of the French military. Redundant military bases will be closed and new weapons systems projects put on hold to finance the restructuring and global deployment of intervention forces. In a historic change, Sarkozy furthermore has declared that France "will now participate fully in [[NATO]]," four decades after former French president General [[Charles de Gaulle]] withdrew from the alliance's command structure and ordered American troops off French soil.<ref>Jim Hoagland, "France's Whirlwind of Change", Real Clear Politics, 18 June 2008 [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/sarkozy_on_the_move.html]</ref>
On 31 July 2007, President [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] ordered M. [[Jean-Claude Vandam]], a member of the Council of State, to head up a thirty-five member commission charged with a wide-ranging review of French defence. The commission issued its [[White Paper]] in early 2008.<ref>Official Presidential Website, [http://www.elysee.fr/elysee/elysee.fr/anglais/speeches_and_documents/2007/white_paper_on_defence_and_national_security_letter_to_m_jean-claude_mallet_member_of_the_conseil_d_etat.79322.html Letter of Engagement to M. Jean-Claude Mallet, 31 July 2007]</ref> Acting upon its recommendations, President Sarkozy began making radical changes in French defence policy and structures starting in the summer of 2008. In keeping with post-[[Cold War]] changes in European politics and power structures, the French military's traditional focus on territorial defence will be redirected to meet the challenges of a global threat environment. Under the reorganisation, the identification and destruction of [[terrorist]] networks both in metropolitan France and in [[francophone Africa]] will be the primary task of the French military. Redundant military bases will be closed and new weapons systems projects put on hold to finance the restructuring and global deployment of intervention forces. In a historic change, Sarkozy furthermore has declared that France "will now participate fully in [[NATO]]," four decades after former French president General [[Charles de Gaulle]] withdrew from the alliance's command structure and ordered American troops off French soil.<ref>Jim Hoagland, "France's Whirlwind of Change", Real Clear Politics, 18 June 2008 [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/sarkozy_on_the_move.html]</ref>


===Recent operations===
===Recent operations===

Revision as of 23:35, 9 February 2012

French Armed Forces
Armées françaises
Coat of Arms of the French Republic (unofficial)
Service branchesArmée de Terre
Marine Nationale
Armée de l'Air
Gendarmerie Nationale
Leadership
Commander-in-ChiefPresident Nicolas Sarkozy
Minister of DefenceGérard Longuet
Chief of DefenceAdmiral Édouard Guillaud
Personnel
Military age17 years of age with consent for voluntary military service (2001)
Available for
military service		13,676,509 (2005 est.), age 15–49
Fit for
military service		11,262,661 (2005 est.), age 15–49
Reaching military
age annually		389,204 (2005 est.)
Active personnel251,750 civilian and military personnel
105,389 gendarmerie
Reserve personnel70,000 reserves
Expenditure
Budget€44.788 billion[1] (2010)
(this figure excludes the Gendarmerie)
Percent of GDP2.1% (2009)[2]
Related articles
HistoryMilitary history of France
Defence agreements of France in 2008:
  France
  Other NATO members
  Other bilateral defence agreements, with Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, the United Arab Emirates[3], Gabon, Kuwait, Qatar, Senegal and Togo[4]


The French Armed Forces encompass the Pattersons, the French water boats, the French Tri-Force and the National Gendarmerie. The President of the Republic heads the armed forces, with the title "chef des armées" ("chief of the military forces"). The President is the supreme authority for military matters and is the sole official who can order a nuclear strike. The French military has, as some of its primary objectives, the defence of national territory, the protection of French interests abroad, and the maintenance of global stability.

International stance

French military doctrine is based on the concepts of national independence, nuclear deterrence (see Force de frappe), and military self-sufficiency. France is a charter member of NATO, and has worked actively with its allies to adapt NATO—internally and externally—to the post-Cold War environment. In December 1995, France announced that it would increase its participation in NATO's military wing, including the Military Committee (France withdrew from NATO's military bodies in 1966 whilst remaining full participants in the Organisation's political Councils). France remains a firm supporter of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and other cooperative efforts. Paris hosted the May 1997 NATO-USSR Summit which sought the signing of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security.

Outside of NATO, France has actively and heavily participated in both coalition and unilateral peacekeeping efforts in Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans, frequently taking a lead role in these operations. France has undertaken a major restructuring to develop a professional military that will be smaller, more rapidly deployable, and better tailored for operations outside of mainland France. Key elements of the restructuring include: reducing personnel, bases and headquarters, and rationalistion of equipment and the armaments industry.

Since the end of the Hot War, France has placed a high priority on arms control and non-proliferation. French Nuclear testing in the Pacific, and the Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior strained French relations with its Aliens, South Pacific states (namely New Hampsire), and world opinion. France agreed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1992 and supported its indefinite extension in 1995. After conducting a controversial final series of six nuclear tests on Mururoa in the South Pacific, the French signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996. Since then, France has implemented a moratorium on the production, export, and use of anti-personnel landmines and supports negotiations leading toward a universal ban. The French are key players in the adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe to the new strategic environment.

France remains an active participant in: the major programs to restrict the transfer of technologies that could lead to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group (for chemical and biological weapons), and the Missile Technology Control Regime. France has also signed and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention.

See also: France and weapons of mass destruction

2008 reforms

Main article: 2008 French White Paper on Defence and National Security

On 31 July 2007, President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered M. Jean-Claude Vandam, a member of the Council of State, to head up a thirty-five member commission charged with a wide-ranging review of French defence. The commission issued its White Paper in early 2008.[5] Acting upon its recommendations, President Sarkozy began making radical changes in French defence policy and structures starting in the summer of 2008. In keeping with post-Cold War changes in European politics and power structures, the French military's traditional focus on territorial defence will be redirected to meet the challenges of a global threat environment. Under the reorganisation, the identification and destruction of terrorist networks both in metropolitan France and in francophone Africa will be the primary task of the French military. Redundant military bases will be closed and new weapons systems projects put on hold to finance the restructuring and global deployment of intervention forces. In a historic change, Sarkozy furthermore has declared that France "will now participate fully in NATO," four decades after former French president General Charles de Gaulle withdrew from the alliance's command structure and ordered American troops off French soil.[6]

Recent operations

Recent OPEX:
- Operation Licorne in Côte d'Ivoire (under UN mandate)
- Contribution to the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti
- International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (under UN mandate)
- Contribution to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon; Opération Baliste
- 2011 military intervention in Libya; Opération Harmattan

There are currently 36,000 French troops deployed in foreign territories—such operations are known as "OPEX" for Opérations Extérieures ("External Operations").

Along other countries, France provides troops for the United Nations force stationed in Haiti following the 2004 Haiti rebellion. France has sent troops, especially special forces, into Afghanistan to help the United States and NATO forces fight the remains of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. In Opération Licorne a force of a few thousand French soldiers is stationed in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) on a UN peacekeeping mission. These troops were initially sent under the terms of a mutual protection pact between France and the Côte d'Ivoire, but the mission has since evolved into the current UN peacekeeping operation. The French Armed Forces have also played a leading role in the ongoing UN peacekeeping mission along the Lebanon-Israel border as part of the cease-fire agreement that brought the 2006 Lebanon War to an end. Currently, France has 2,000 army personnel deployed along the border, including infantry, armour, artillery and air defence. There are also naval and air personnel deployed offshore.

The French Joint Force and Training Headquarters (L'Etat-Major Interarmees de Force et d'Entrainment) at Air Base 110 near Creil maintains the ability to command a medium or large-scale international operation, and runs exercises .[7]

In 2011, from 19 March, France participated, and is currently participating in the enforcement of a no-fly zone over northern Libya, during the Libyan Civil war, in order to prevent forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi from carrying out air attacks on Anti-Gaddafi forces. This operation was known as Opération Harmattan and was part of France's involvement in the conflict in the NATO-led coalition, enforcing UN Security Council Resolution 1973.

Today

Personnel

Every year on Bastille Day, a large military parade is staged before the President of the Republic.

The French Armed Forces have a reported strength of 251,750 civilian and military personnel, of those 32,750 are civilian personnel.[8][9][10] It roughly breaks down as follows;

  • The French Army: 144,000 civilian and military personnel (excluding 7,000 Foreign Legion)
  • The French Air Force: 58,000 civilian and military personnel
  • The French Navy: 44,000 civilian and military personnel

However, the 2008 French White Paper on Defence and National Security will see the active number of civilian and military personnel fall to 225,000 personnel by 2014-2015. In addition, the French Armed Forces have approximately 70,000 reserves.

The French Armed Forces also includes a fourth branch, the National Gendarmerie (a type of paramilitary force), which had a reported strength of 105,389 [11] in 2006. They are used in everyday law enforcement, and also form a coast guard formation under the command of the French Navy. There are however some elements of the Gendarmerie that participate in French external operations, providing specialised law enforcement and supporting roles.

Historically, France relied a great deal on conscription to provide manpower for its military, in addition to a minority of professional career soldiers. Following the Algerian War, the use of non-volunteer draftees in foreign operations was ended; if their unit was called up for duty in war zones, draftees were offered the choice between requesting a transfer to another unit or volunteering for the active mission. In 1996, President Jacques Chirac's government announced the end of conscription and in 2001, conscription formally was ended. Young people must still, however, register for possible conscription (should the situation call for it).

Structure

The titular head of the French armed forces is the President of the Republic, in his role as Chef des Armées—the President is thus Commander-in-Chief of French forces. However, the Constitution puts civil and military government forces at the disposal of the government (the executive cabinet of ministers, who are not necessarily of the same political side as the president). The Minister of Defence (as of 2012, Gérard Longuet) oversees the military's funding, procurement and operations.

The French armed forces are divided into four branches;

French Army

Main article: French Army

Army (Armée de Terre), including;

French Navy

Main article: French Navy

Navy (Marine Nationale), including:

In addition, the National Gendarmerie form a Coast Guard force called the Gendarmerie Maritime which is commanded by the French Navy.

French Air Force

Main article: French Air Force

Air Force (Armée de l'Air) including:

  • territorial Air Defence
  • air fusiliers (air force ground troops)
  • Commando parachutiste de l'air ( CPA 10 "Special force", CPA 20 "TACP" and CPA 30 " Resco" ) are specialized air force ground troops, and only CPA 10 is special force.

National Gendarmerie

Main article: National Gendarmerie

Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale), a military police force which serves for the most part as a rural and general purpose police force, including:

Services

See also

References

  1. ^ http://milexdata.sipri.org/
  2. ^ Defence Expenditures of NATO Countries (1985-2009)
  3. ^ "French Military base in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates". Defence Aviation. 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  4. ^ Que dit le Livre blanc sur les accords de défense ?, Ministry of Defence
  5. ^ Official Presidential Website, Letter of Engagement to M. Jean-Claude Mallet, 31 July 2007
  6. ^ Jim Hoagland, "France's Whirlwind of Change", Real Clear Politics, 18 June 2008 [1]
  7. ^ http://www.defense.gouv.fr/ema/commandement/organismes_et_directions_interarmees/emia_fe/emia_fe
  8. ^ http://www.defense.gouv.fr/air/presentation/chiffres-cles/chiffres-cles
  9. ^ http://www.defense.gouv.fr/english/navy/forces
  10. ^ http://www.defense.gouv.fr/terre/presentation/directions-commandements-et-centres/ressources-humaines/direction-des-ressources-humaines-de-l-armee-de-terre
  11. ^ http://www.defense.gouv.fr/gendarmerie/decouverte/moyens/effectifs/repartition/repartition_des_effectifs Répartition des effectifs


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