French Army

The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre ( _en. Land Army), is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces and its largest. As of 2007, the army employs 134,000 regular soldiers, 15,500 reservists, and 25,750 civilians. [ [http://www.defense.gouv.fr/terre/decouverte/chiffres_cles/armee_de_terre_en_chiffres/l_armee_de_terre_en_chiffres_decembre_2006 L'armée de Terre en chiffres (Décembre 2006)] ] All soldiers are now considered professionals, following the suspension of conscription in 1996.

Organisation

The army is divided into different Corps or "armes". These Corps retain both symbolic and administrative values.
* Troupes de Marine composed of:
** Marine Infantry ("Infanterie de Marine", including parachute regiments such as 1er RPIMa and light cavalry such as RICM)
** Marine Artillery ("Artillerie de Marine")
* Foreign Legion ("Légion étrangère")
* Armoured Cavalry ("Arme Blindée cavalerie")
* Artillery;
* Army Light Aviation ("Aviation Légère de l'Armée de Terre" - ALAT), including combat helicopters;
* Military engineers ("Génie Militaire");
* Infantry,
** including specialist mountain infantry ("Chasseurs Alpins")
* Maintenance ("Matériel")
* Logistics ("Train")
* Signals ("Transmissions")
* Commissary

The operational organisation of the Army combines units from various Corps in 17 Brigades.

tatistics

Photo Gallery

Principles and values

The principles and values of the French Army are formulated in the "Code of the French Soldier":

ee also

*Military of France
*Ranks in the French Army

References

External links

*fr icon [http://www.defense.gouv.fr/sites/terre/ Official website]
* [http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/00summer/bloch.htm French Military Reform: Lessons for America's Army?] , George A. Bloch (includes explanations of the structure of command)