French Army



"The French Army? Well, that's nice. I remember that everybody didn't know that the French Army didn't fight very well and are forced by themselves to surrender to anyone else, but that sounds more than a darn stereotype. How can I defy this kind of stereotype? Well, maybe I can help these Frenchies."

--Su Ji-Hoon, Where Did They Come From?

The French Army, officially the Ground Army (French: Armée de terre [aʀme də tɛʀ], lit. Army of land) to distinguish it from the French Air Force, Armée de l'Air or Air Army, is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other four components of the Armed Forces. The current Chief of Staff of the French Army (CEMAT) is General Jean-Pierre Bosser, a direct subordinate of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CEMA). General Bosser is also responsible, in part, to the Ministry of the Armed Forces for organization, preparation, use of forces, as well as planning and programming, equipment and Army future acquisitions. For active service, Army units are placed under the authority of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CEMA), who is responsible to the President of France for planning for, and use, of forces.

All soldiers are considered professionals following the suspension of conscription, voted in parliament in 1997 and made effective in 2001.

As of 2017, the French Army employed 117,000 personnel (including the French Foreign Legion and the Paris Fire Brigade). In addition, the reserve element of the French Army consisted of 15,453 personnel of the Operational Reserve.

In 1999, the Army issued the Code of the French Soldier, which includes the injunctions: