French Armed Forces
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Key facts
- Founded
- 26 May 1445, (581 years, 8 days)
- Service branches
- French Army French Navy French Air and Space Force National Gendarmerie
- Headquarters
- Hexagone Balard , Paris
- Chief of the armed forces
- President Emmanuel Macron
- Minister of the armed forces
- Catherine Vautrin
- Chief of the defence staff
- Général d'armée aérienne Fabien Mandon
- Conscription
- None
- Active personnel
- 264,000 (2026)
- Reserve personnel
- 43,444 (2025)
- Deployed personnel
- ~11,000
- Budget
- €61.8 billion ($71.7 billion), (2025, including pensions) , €50.5 billion ($58.5 billion), (2025, excluding pensions)
- Percent of gdp
- 2.06% (2024)
- Domestic suppliers
- Airbus ArianeGroup Dassault Aviation MBDA Naval Group KNDS France Safran Thales
- Foreign suppliers
- United States , United Kingdom , Brazil , Switzerland , Germany , Netherlands , Italy , Norway , Canada , Belgium , Austria , NATO , European Union
- Annual imports
- US$84 million (2014–2022)
- Annual exports
- US$2.60 billion (2014–2022)
- History
- Military history of France , Warfare directory of France , Wars involving France , Battles involving France
- Ranks
- Army ranks , Navy ranks , Air and Space Force ranks
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
The French Armed Forces (French: Forces armées françaises, pronounced [fɔʁs aʁme fʁɑ̃sɛːz]) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' military reserve force. As stipulated by France's constitution, the president of France serves as commander-in-chief of the French military. The Chief of the Defence Staff, currently Général d'armée aérienne Fabien Mandon, serves as the Armed Forces' military head.
France has the ninth largest defense budget in the world and the second largest in the European Union (EU). It also has the largest military by size in the EU. As of 2025, the total active personnel of the French Armed Forces is 264,000. While the reserve personnel is 43,000, for a total of 307,000 personnel (excluding the National Gendarmerie). Including the National Gendarmerie (155,000 in 2024), the total manpower of the French Armed Forces combined is 462,000 strong. According to the 2026 Global Firepower Index, the French Armed Forces are ranked as the world's sixth most powerful military. However, France is frequently considered a top-tier military power, often fluctuating between fifth and sixth place due to its global capabilities and independent nuclear umbrella.