Home > Military of France

1 Organization

The French armed forces are divided into four branches:

• Army, including
  • Chasseurs Alpins
  • Foreign Legion
  • Marine troops
  • light aviation
  • engineers
• Navy, including
  • Naval Air
  • naval fusiliers and naval commandos
• Air Force, including
  • territorial Air Defense
  • air fusiliers
• National Gendarmerie (military police force)

They also include the following services:

• General delegation to weaponry (defense procurement agency), military/civilian service, including
  • the Direction of Naval Constructions
  • supervision of some engineering schools (including École Polytechnique, École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées and SUPAERO)
• Health service of the armies
• Service of fuels.

Previously, France relied a great deal on conscription to provide manpower to its armies, with only a minority of career soldiers. Following from the Algerian War of Independence, the use of non-volunteer draftees in foreign operations was ended. In 19961996 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty''. Events January January 5 Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone Jan, President Jacques ChiracJacques Rene Chirac Became President 17 May 1995 Predecessor Francois Mitterrand Date of Birth 29 November 1932 Place of Birth Paris Political party Union for a Popular Movement Jacques Rene Chirac (born 29 November 1932) is a French politician. He was el's government announced the end of conscription; in 20012001 is a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall ap, conscription was ended. However, young people must still register for possible conscription should the events call for it, with the change that now females must register as well.

2 International stance

French military doctrine is based on the concepts of national independence, nuclear deterrence (see Force de frappeThe Force de Frappe (French: Deterrence literally Striking Force is the designation of what used to be a triad of air, sea and land based French Nuclear Forces, part of the Military of France. It was designed in the 1950s by General de Gaulle, mainly as a), and military sufficiency. France is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATOThe North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NATO , sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance is an international organization for defense collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed), and has worked actively with Allies to adapt NATO--internally and externally--to the post- Cold WarThe Cold War (c. 1945- 1991) was the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between groups of nations practicing different ideologies and political systems. On one side was the Soviet Union and its allies, often referred to as the E environment. In DecemberDecember is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days. From the Latin decem for " ten" (it was originally the tenth month of the year, before January and February were inserted). The winter solstice falls in December. 1995, France announced that it would increase its participation in NATO's military wing, including the Military Committee (the French withdrew from NATO's military bodies in 1966 while remaining full participants in the alliance's political councils). France remains a firm supporter of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and other efforts at cooperation. Paris hosted the May 1997 NATO-Russia Summit for 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, often taking the lead in these operations. France has undertaken a major restructuring to develop a professional military which 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 rationalizing equipment and the armament industry. French active-duty military at the beginning of 2001 numbered approximately 446,000, of which nearly 35,000 were assigned outside of metropolitan France.

Since the end of the Cold War, France has placed a high priority on arms control and non-proliferation. It acceded 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 in the South Pacific, the French signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996. 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 is an active participant in the major supplier regimes designed to restrict transfer of technologies that could lead to 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 signed and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention.

See also: France and weapons of mass destruction