French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (French: Armée de terre, lit. 'Army of Land'), is the principal land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, French Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie.[3] The Army is commanded by the Chief of Staff of the French Army (CEMAT), who is subordinate of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CEMA), who commands active service Army units and in turn is responsible to the President of France.[4] CEMAT is also directly responsible to the Ministry of the Armed Forces for administration, preparation, and equipment.
Land Army
26 May 1445
(578 years, 10 months ago)
118,600 active personnel
23,000 reserve personnel[1]
Honneur et Patrie
"Honour and Fatherland"
Blue, White, and Red
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- Hundred Years' War
- Colonial Wars (1534–1980)
- Italian Wars
- Thirty Years' War
- War of the League of Augsburg
- War of the Spanish Succession
- War of the Polish Succession
- War of the Austrian Succession
- Seven Years' War
- American Revolutionary War
- French Revolutionary Wars
- Napoleonic Wars
- French intervention in Spain
- Greek War of Independence
- Conquest of Algeria
- Belgian Revolution
- Franco-Moroccan War
- Cochinchina Campaign
- Crimean War
- Franco-Austrian War
- Franco-Prussian War
- Paris Commune
- French conquest of Tunisia
- Mandingo Wars
- First Franco-Dahomean War
- Second Franco-Dahomean War
- Ouaddai War
- First World War
- Franco-Turkish War
- Levant Campaign
- Rif War
- Second World War
- Indochina War
- Malagasy Uprising
- Suez Crisis
- Algerian War
- Lebanese Civil War
- United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (1978–present)[2]
- Gulf War
- Kosovo War
- 1999 East Timorese crisis
- Operation Enduring Freedom
- War in Afghanistan
- Northern Mali Conflict
- Second Ivorian Civil War
- Central African Republic conflict
President Emmanuel Macron
Army General Pierre Schill
Army Corps General Hervé Gomart
The French Army, following the French Revolution, has generally been composed of a mixed force of conscripts and professional volunteers. It is now considered a professional force, since the French Parliament suspended the conscription of soldiers.
According to British historian Niall Ferguson, out of all recorded conflicts which occurred since the year 387 BC, France has fought in 168 of them, won 109, lost 49 and drawn 10; this makes France the most successful military power in European history in terms of number of fought and won.[5]
Ceremonial parade for the commemoration of 8 May 1945
Members of 21e RIMA in parade formation
Officers during military parade on the Champs-Élysées, Paris
In the 1970s, France adopted a light beige dress uniform which is worn with coloured kepis, sashes, fringed epaulettes, fourragères and other traditional items on appropriate occasions. The most commonly worn parade dress, however, consists of camouflage uniforms worn with the dress items noted above. The camouflage pattern, officially called Camouflage Centre Europe (CE), draws heavily on the colouration incorporated into the US M81 woodland pattern, but with a thicker and heavier striping. A desert version called the Camouflage Daguet has been worn since the Gulf War which consists of large irregular areas of chestnut brown and light grey on a sand khaki base.
The legionnaires of the Foreign Legion wear white kepis, blue sashes, and green and red epaulettes as dress uniform, while the Troupes de marine wear blue and red kepis and yellow epaulettes. The pioneers of the Foreign Legion wear the basic legionnaire uniform but with leather aprons and gloves. The Chasseurs Alpins wear a large beret, known as the "tarte" (the pie) with dark blue or white mountain outfits. The Spahis retain the long white cloak or "burnous" of the regiment's origin as North African cavalry.
The military cadets of Saint-Cyr and the École Polytechnique retain their late 19th century dress uniforms.[41] A dark blue/black evening dress is authorized for officers[42] and individual branches or regiments may parade bands or "fanfares" in historic dress dating as far back as the Napoleonic period.