thumb|upright=2.0|Defence agreements of France (light blue) in 2008. In addition to being a member of NATO (dark blue), France has bilateral agreements (olive) with Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, the United Arab Emirates, Gabon, Kuwait, Qatar, Senegal and Togo. The Military of
France' encompasses an
army, a
navy, an
air force and a
gendarmerie. The
President of the Republic heads the armed forces, with the title of "
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.
With a reported personnel strength of 779,450 in 2006 (259,050 regular force, 419,000
regular reserve, and 101,400 law enforcement
Gendarmerie), the French Armed Forces constitutes the largest military in the
European Union and the
12th largest in the world by number of troops. The French Armed Forces however have the
3rd highest expenditure of any military in the world, as well as the
3rd largest nuclear force in the world, only behind the
United States and
Russia.
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-Russia
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
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 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
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.
2008 reforms
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.. 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.
Recent operations
thumb|upright=2.0|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]]
There are currently 36,000 French troops
deployed in foreign territories - such operations are known as "OPEX" for
Opérations Extérieures ("External Operations").
Along with the
United States and 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 .
Organisation
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 2007,
Hervé Morin) oversees the military's funding, procurement and operations.
The
French armed forces are divided into four branches:
- Army (Armée de Terre), including:
- * Armoured Cavalry (Arme Blindée Cavalerie)
- * Signals (Transmissions)
- * Transport and logistics (Train)
- Navy (Marine Nationale), including:
- * air fusiliers (air force ground troops)
- Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale), a military police force which serves for the most part as a rural and general purpose police force. In 2009 this force will quit the ministry of defence to fully join the ministry of interior (police).
It also include the following services:
- SGA (Eng: Secretariat general de l'administration = administration and construction).
- Health service of the armies (Eng: Service de Santé des Armées) operates a number of military hospitals.
- Fuel Services (Eng: Service des Essences des Armées = Army Fuels Service).
Manpower
The total number of military personnel is approximately 359,000, although approximately 100,000 of these are in the Gendarmerie and, thus, used in everyday law enforcement operations within France (elements of the Gendarmerie are, however, present in all French external operations, providing specialised law enforcement troops/military police).
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). A recent change is that women must now register as well.
Equipment
See also
