FRENCH ARMY

The 'French Army', officially the 'Armée de Terre' (), 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.^[1] All soldiers are now considered professionals, following the suspension of conscription in 1996.

Contents

Organisation

Statistics

Principles and values

See also

References

External links

Organisation

The army is divided into different Corps or ''armes''. These Corps retain both symbolic and administrative values.

★ Marine troops, composed of:

★
★ Marine Infantry (''Infanterie de Marine'', including airborne and light cavalry units)

★
★ 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,

★
★ Mountain Troops (''Chasseurs Alpins'')

★ Supply (''Materiel'')

★ Logistics (''Train'')

★ Signals (''Transmissions'')

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

Statistics

'French Armée de Terre statistics'
Personnel (Regular Army)	'134,000'
Personnel (Reserve Forces)	15,500
Main Battle Tanks	407 Leclercs (as of 2007), 614 AMX-30B2s
Reconnaissance vehicles	1280 VBLs, 192 ERC-90s, 337 AMX-10RCs
Infantry Fighting vehicles	550 + 150 VBCIs (ordered), 601 AMX-10Ps
Armoured Personnel Carriers	3,975 VABs
Artillery pieces and mortar	105 TRF1s, 72 Caesar systems (currently being delivered), 134 AMX 30 AuF1s
Helicopters	80 Eurocopter Tigers (currently being delivered), 10 EC-175s, 4 AS-352s, 18 AS-555s, 21 AS-532, 276 Gazelles, 101 SA-330s

Principles and values

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

See also

★ Military of France

★ Ranks in the French Army

References

1. L'armée de Terre en chiffres (Décembre 2006)

External links

★ Official website

★ French Military Reform: Lessons for America's Army?, George A. Bloch (includes explanations of the structure of command)