# Chief of Staff of the French Navy

The Chief of the Naval Staff (French: Chef d’état-major de la Marine, pronounced, abbr. CEMM) is a French general officer, adviser to the Chief of the Defence Staff for the French Navy and responsible to the Minister of the Armed Forces for preparing the Navy for its engagement. Since 1 September 2023, the Chief of the Naval Staff has been Admiral Nicolas Vaujour [fr].

## Main powers

The Chief of the Naval Staff is the top representative of the French Navy.
He advises and assists the Chief of the Defence Staff. He provides him with Navy-specific expertise.
He maintains bilateral relations with foreign navies. He participates in inter-administrative bodies in the field of State action at sea.
He has authority over the Navy General Staff (French: Etat-major de la Marine, acronym: EMM), over the Navy Military Personnel Directorate (French: Direction du personnel militaire de la Marine, acronym: DPMM), as well as over all the commands, directorates and services that make up the French Navy.
He ensures the preparation of the naval forces. As such, he is responsible for instruction and training, as well as maintenance of operational readiness. He develops the concepts and doctrines for the employment of naval forces. He reports to the Chief of the Defence Staff on the availability of assets and the operational readiness of the naval forces.
Regarding capabilities, the Chief of the Naval Staff develops the French Navy's military requirements. He defines support and infrastructure needs. He is responsible for the operational evaluation of new equipment. He decides their commissioning and their withdrawal from service at the end of their life.
In terms of human resources, regarding the military personnel of the French Navy, he is responsible for their recruitment, initial and continuous training, discipline, morale and wellbeing, professional and career paths, as well as management of the workforce, jobs and skills. Regarding civilian personnel under his authority, he expresses the needs in terms of employment, manpower and skills. He takes part in the implementation of the ministerial policy concerning civilian personnel and participates in social dialogue bodies.
He has responsibilities in terms of risk management and nuclear safety.

## Authority and command

The authority of the Chief of the Naval Staff is exercised over several bodies:
* The Navy General Staff provides general management for the following entities, under the direction of the Major General of the Navy (French: Major général de la Marine, acronym: MGM) and through its seven bureaux (performance and synthesis, support and finance, plans and programs, naval air operations, international relations, nuclear affairs and risk management, human resources):
** Navy Military Personnel Directorate, headed by a Vice-Admiral (acronym: DPMM);
** Major force commands:
*** Vice-Admiral "ALFAN", commanding the Naval Action Force (FAN);
*** Vice-Admiral "ALFOST", commanding the Strategic Oceanic Force (FOST);
*** Commodore "ALAVIA", commanding the naval aviation force (AVIA);
*** Commodore "ALFUSCO", commanding the force of marines and commandos (FORFUSCO);
** Maritime zone commanders:
*** Vice-Admiral, maritime prefect of the Mediterranean;
*** Vice-Admiral, maritime prefect of the Atlantic;
*** Vice-Admiral, maritime prefect of the English Channel and the North Sea;
*** Commodore "ALPACI", commanding the French Pacific Fleet and the armed forces in French Polynesia;
*** Commodore "ALINDIEN", commanding the Indian Ocean Maritime Zone (ZMOI) and the French Maritime Forces in the Indian Ocean;
*** Commodore "COMSUP FAA", commanding the French Armed Forces in the West Indies.
* The following services and departments:
* Inspectorate of the Navy (not to be confused with the General Inspectorate of the Armed Forces, which reports to the Minister of the Armed Forces);
* Navy Outreach Delegate;
* Permanent Commission for Fleet Vessel Programs and Testing;
* Navy Centre for Strategic Studies;
* Navy Public Relations Office (SIRPA Marine);
* Navy Logistics Service;
* Permanent Council for Boating Safety of the Navy;
* Permanent Council for Air Safety of the Navy;
* Permanent Secretariat of the Council for the Military Services of the Navy;
* Inspector of the health service for the Navy;
He chairs the board of directors of the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Navy (French: Service hydrographique et océanographique de la Marine, acronym: SHOM) and supervises the French Naval Academy on behalf of the Minister of the Armed Forces.

## History

Before the First World War, the Chief of the Naval Staff was above all the head of the military cabinet of the Minister of the Navy, and this mode of operation is the source of the name used; the officer who had effective authority over the Navy was then the admiral commanding the naval army, sometimes unofficially referred to as "amiralissime", in reference to the title of "généralissime" used at the time in the Army.
The First World War called all this into question, because an immense work of reorganisation had to be carried out at the headquarters in "rue Royale"a to conduct a long-lasting industrial maritime war and to be able to face the new threats posed by German submarines and underwater mines: a sort of "second staff" was even created, called the "directorate general for underwater warfare" (French: Direction générale de la guerre sous-marine, acronym: DGGSM) with sometimes overlapping areas of action; this observed redundancy logically led to the dissolution of the DGGSM at the end of the war and the attribution of its many prerogatives to the offices of the Navy General Staff.
In order to have a system allowing a flexible transition between peacetime — period of preparation — and wartime — period of action — the Vice-Admiral Chief of the Navy General Staff becomes, in the 1920s, the designated commander of the French maritime forces in the event of war, and the staff tasks fall in such circumstances to the Major General of the Navy, his first deputy in time of peace.
From 26 August 1939 to 6 June 1943, the organisation of the French Navy no longer included a general staff, but instead a "staff of the French maritime forces" which acted as such for the time of war. Admiral Darlan thus became commander-in-chief of the French maritime forces before being called to other functions in February 1941 in Vichy France.
After the Second World War, the gradual disappearance of the portfolio of Minister of the Navy led to entrusting part of the Minister's prerogatives to the Chief of the Naval Staff. However over time these prerogatives were taken over at the "joint" level by the staff of the armed forces and its chief: the Chief of the Defence Staff. The Chief of the Naval Staff thus lost his responsibilities for directing maritime operations to the Chief of the Defence Staff in 1971b.
In the 2000s, a large part of the organic prerogatives – force preparation – was again transferred to the Chief of the Defence Staff, but the Chief of the Naval Staff remained his main adviser regarding the preparation and employment of the Navy.
Admiral Bernard Louzeau decided at the end of the 1980s to replace the emblem of the French Navy, "a gold anchor intertwined with a cable", by a logo representing "a white ship’s bow with two blue and red waves". Admiral Pierre-François Forissier decided to provide the Navy with an anthem whose lyrics were written in 2011 by Lieutenant Christian Beauval and the music by the Chief of Music of the Armed Forces Didier Descamps, Chief of Music of the Brest fleet crews.

## List of chiefs

The following is a list of chiefs that served under the Third Republic, the French State, the Fourth Republic and the Fifth Republic:

### Third Republic

| No. | Portrait | Rank & Name | Term | Term | Term | Minister | Commander-in-Chief | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Rank & Name | Took office | Left office | Duration | Minister | Commander-in-Chief | Ref. |
| Office established |||||||||
| 1 | | Contre-amiral Jules Krantz | 9 March 1871 | 4 June 1873 | 2 years, 87 days | Louis Pothuau Charles d'Hornoy | Adolphe Thiers Patrice de MacMahon | - |
| 2 | | Contre-amiral Victor Duperré | 4 June 1873 | 1 October 1874 | 1 year, 119 days | Charles d'Hornoy Louis de Chauvance | Patrice de MacMahon | - |
| 3 | | Contre-amiral Henri Garnault [fr] | 1 October 1874 | 12 March 1876 | 1 year, 163 days | Louis de Chauvance Léon Fourichon | Patrice de MacMahon | - |
| 4 | | Contre-amiral Albert Roussin | 12 March 1876 | 1 October 1877 | 1 year, 203 days | Léon Fourichon Albert des Touches Albert Roussin | Patrice de MacMahon | - |
| 5 | | Contre-amiral Abel-Nicolas Bergasse du Petit-Thouars | 1 October 1877 | 12 February 1879 | 1 year, 134 days | Albert Roussin Louis Pothuau Jean Jauréguiberry | Patrice de MacMahon Jules Grévy | - |
| 6 | | Contre-amiral Eugène Sellier | 12 February 1879 | 2 August 1880 | 1 year, 172 days | Jean Jauréguiberry | Jules Grévy | - |
| 7 | | Contre-amiral Alexandre Peyron | 2 August 1880 | 17 November 1881 | 1 year, 107 days | Jean Jauréguiberry Georges Cloué Auguste Gougeard | Jules Grévy | - |
| 8 | | Capitaine de vaisseau Armand Besnard | 17 November 1881 | 1 February 1882 | 76 days | Auguste Gougeard Jean Jauréguiberry | Jules Grévy | - |
| 9 | | Vice-amiral Alexandre Peyron | 1 February 1882 | 28 February 1883 | 1 year, 27 days | Jean Jauréguiberry François de Mahy | Jules Grévy | - |
| 10 | | Contre-amiral Sébastien Lespès | 28 February 1883 | 14 July 1885 | 2 years, 136 days | François de Mahy Charles Brun Alexandre Peyron Charles-Eugène Galiber | Jules Grévy | - |
| 11 | | Contre-amiral Charles de la Jaille [fr] | 14 July 1885 | 10 January 1886 | 180 days | Charles-Eugène Galiber Théophile Aube | Jules Grévy | - |
| 12 | | Contre-amiral Louis-Henri Brown de Colstoun [fr] | 10 January 1886 | 1 April 1887 | 1 year, 81 days | Théophile Aube | Jules Grévy | - |
| 13 | | Capitaine de vaisseau Alfred Gervais [fr] | 1 April 1887 | 2 June 1887 | 62 days | Théophile Aube Édouard Barbey | Jules Grévy | - |
| 14 | | Contre-amiral Louis Alquier | 2 June 1887 | 16 December 1887 | 197 days | Édouard Barbey François de Mahy | Jules Grévy Sadi Carnot | - |
| 15 | | Contre-amiral Alfred Le Timbre | 16 December 1887 | 13 November 1889 | 1 year, 332 days | François de Mahy Jules Krantz Benjamin Jaurès Jules Krantz Édouard Barbey | Sadi Carnot | - |
| 16 | | Vice-amiral Louis Vignes [fr] | 13 November 1889 | 11 February 1892 | 2 years, 90 days | Édouard Barbey | Sadi Carnot | - |
| 17 | | Vice-amiral Alfred Gervais [fr] | 11 February 1892 | 22 September 1894 | 2 years, 223 days | Édouard Barbey Godefroy Cavaignac [...] Auguste Lefèvre Félix Faure | Sadi Carnot Jean Casimir-Perier | - |
| 18 | | Vice-amiral Edgar Humann | 22 September 1894 | 8 November 1895 | 1 year, 48 days | Félix Faure Armand Besnard Édouard Lockroy | Jean Casimir-Perier Félix Faure | - |
| 19 | | Contre-amiral Charles Chauvin | 8 November 1895 | 16 June 1896 | 221 days | Édouard Lockroy Armand Besnard | Félix Faure | - |
| 20 | | Vice-amiral Jean de Lamornaix | 16 June 1896 | 8 July 1898 | 2 years, 22 days | Armand Besnard Édouard Lockroy | Félix Faure | - |
| 21 | | Vice-amiral Jules de Cuverville | 8 July 1898 | 8 July 1899 | 1 year, 0 days | Édouard Lockroy Jean-Marie de Lanessan | Félix Faure Émile Loubet | - |
| 22 | | Contre-amiral Léonce Caillard [fr] | 8 July 1899 | 1 May 1900 | 297 days | Jean-Marie de Lanessan | Émile Loubet | - |
| 23 | | Vice-amiral Amédée Bienaimé [fr] | 1 May 1900 | 1 February 1902 | 1 year, 276 days | Jean-Marie de Lanessan | Émile Loubet | - |
| 24 | | Contre-amiral Ernest Marquer | 1 February 1902 | 18 February 1904 | 2 years, 17 days | Jean-Marie de Lanessan Camille Pelletan | Émile Loubet | - |
| 25 | | Contre-amiral Paul Campion | 18 February 1904 | 29 January 1905 | 346 days | Camille Pelletan Gaston Thomson | Émile Loubet | - |
| 26 | | Vice-amiral Charles Touchard [fr] | 29 January 1905 | 1 November 1905 | 276 days | Gaston Thomson | Émile Loubet | - |
| 27 | | Vice-amiral Charles Aubert [fr] | 1 November 1905 | 23 August 1909 | 3 years, 295 days | Gaston Thomson Alfred Picard Auguste de Lapeyrère | Émile Loubet Armand Fallières | - |
| 28 | | Vice-amiral Laurent Marin-Darbel [fr] | 23 August 1909 | 15 February 1911 | 1 year, 176 days | Auguste de Lapeyrère | Armand Fallières | - |
| 29 | | Vice-amiral Paul Auvert [fr] | 15 February 1911 | 1 February 1912 | 351 days | Auguste de Lapeyrère Théophile Delcassé | Armand Fallières | - |
| 30 | | Vice-amiral Charles Aubert [fr] | 1 February 1912 | 24 January 1913 | 358 days | Théophile Delcassé Pierre Baudin | Armand Fallières | - |
| 31 | | Vice-amiral Pierre Ange Marie Le Bris [fr] | 24 January 1913 | 26 May 1914 | 1 year, 122 days | Pierre Baudin Ernest Monis Armand Gauthier | Armand Fallières Raymond Poincaré | - |
| 32 | | Vice-amiral Louis-Joseph Pivet [fr] | 26 May 1914 | 5 December 1914 | 193 days | Armand Gauthier Émile Chautemps Armand Gauthier Victor Augagneur | Raymond Poincaré | - |
| 33 | | Vice-amiral Charles Aubert [fr] | 5 December 1914 | 7 June 1915† | 184 days | Victor Augagneur | Raymond Poincaré | - |
| 34 | | Vice-amiral Eugène de Jonquières [fr] | 9 June 1915 | 10 March 1916 | 275 days | Victor Augagneur Lucien Lacaze | Raymond Poincaré | - |
| 35 | | Vice-amiral Ferdinand-Jean-Jacques de Bon [fr] | 10 March 1916 | 16 April 1919 | 3 years, 37 days | Lucien Lacaze Charles Chaumet Georges Leygues | Raymond Poincaré | - |
| 36 | | Vice-amiral Pierre-Alexis Ronarc'h | 16 April 1919 | 4 February 1920 | 294 days | Georges Leygues Adolphe Landry | Raymond Poincaré | - |
| 37 | | Vice-amiral Henri Salaün | 4 February 1920 | 26 January 1921 | 357 days | Adolphe Landry Gabriel Guist'hau | Raymond Poincaré Paul Deschanel Alexandre Millerand | - |
| 38 | | Vice-amiral Maurice Grasset [fr] | 26 January 1921 | 23 July 1924 | 3 years, 179 days | Gabriel Guist'hau Flaminius Raiberti Maurice Bokanowski Désiré Ferry Jacques-Louis Dumesnil | Alexandre Millerand Gaston Doumergue | - |
| 39 | | Vice-amiral Henri Salaun | 23 July 1924 | 11 January 1928 | 3 years, 172 days | Jacques-Louis Dumesnil Émile Borel Georges Leygues René Renoult Georges Leygues | Gaston Doumergue | - |
| 40 | | Vice-amiral Louis-Hippolyte Violette [fr] | 11 January 1928 | 17 February 1931 | 3 years, 37 days | Georges Leygues Albert Sarraut Jacques-Louis Dumesnil Albert Sarraut Charles Dumont | Gaston Doumergue | - |
| 41 | | Vice-amiral Georges Durand-Viel | 17 February 1931 | 31 December 1936 | 5 years, 318 days | Charles Dumont Georges Leygues [...] François Piétri Alphonse Duparc | Gaston Doumergue Paul Doumer Albert Lebrun | - |
| 42 | | Amiral François Darlan | 31 December 1936 | 25 June 1939 | 2 years, 176 days | Alphonse Duparc César Campinchi William Bertrand César Campinchi | Albert Lebrun | - |

### French State

| No. | Portrait | Rank & Name | Term | Term | Term | Minister | Commander-in-Chief | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Rank & Name | Took office | Left office | Duration | Minister | Commander-in-Chief | Ref. |
| (42) | | Amiral François Darlan | 25 June 1939 | 2 September 1941 | 2 years, 69 days | César Campinchi François Darlan | Albert Lebrun Philippe Pétain | - |
| 43 | | Contre-amiral Gabriel Auphan | 2 September 1941 | 18 November 1942 | 1 year, 77 days | François Darlan | Philippe Pétain | - |
| 44 | | Vice-amiral d'escadre Maurice Le Luc [fr] | 21 November 1942 | 1 April 1943 | 131 days | Jean Abrial | Philippe Pétain | - |

### Fourth Republic

| No. | Portrait | Rank & Name | Term | Term | Term | Minister | Commander-in-Chief | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Rank & Name | Took office | Left office | Duration | Minister | Commander-in-Chief | Ref. |
| 45 | | Vice-amiral d'escadre André Lemonnier | 7 August 1943 | 28 May 1950 | 6 years, 294 days | Philippe Auboyneau Louis Jacquinot [...] Paul Ramadier René Pleven | Charles de Gaulle Félix Gouin Georges Bidault Léon Blum Vincent Auriol | - |
| 46 | | Vice-amiral Robert Battet [fr] | 28 May 1950 | 14 July 1950† | 47 days | René Pleven Jules Moch | Vincent Auriol | - |
| 47 | | Vice-amiral Roger-Gabriel Lambert [fr] | 10 August 1950 | 26 October 1951 | 1 year, 77 days | Jules Moch Georges Bidault | Vincent Auriol | - |
| 48 | | Amiral Henri Nomy [fr] | 26 October 1951 | 19 May 1960 | 8 years, 206 days | Georges Bidault René Pleven [...] Pierre Guillaumat Pierre Messmer | Vincent Auriol René Coty Charles de Gaulle | - - |

### Fifth Republic

| No. | Portrait | Rank & Name | Term | Term | Term | Minister | Commander-in-Chief | Ref. |
| No. | Portrait | Rank & Name | Took office | Left office | Duration | Minister | Commander-in-Chief | Ref. |
| 49 | | Amiral Georges Cabanier | 19 May 1960 | 1 January 1968 | 7 years, 227 days | Pierre Messmer | Charles de Gaulle | - |
| 50 | | Amiral André Patou [fr] | 1 January 1968 | 1 May 1970 | 2 years, 120 days | Pierre Messmer Michel Debré | Charles de Gaulle Georges Pompidou | - - |
| 51 | | Amiral André Storelli [fr] | 1 May 1970 | 1 February 1972 | 1 year, 276 days | Michel Debré | Georges Pompidou | - - |
| 52 | | Amiral Marc de Joybert [fr] | 1 February 1972 | 14 July 1974 | 2 years, 163 days | Michel Debré Robert Galley Jacques Soufflet Yvon Bourges | Georges Pompidou Valéry Giscard d'Estaing | - - |
| 53 | | Amiral Albert Joire-Noulens [fr] | 14 July 1974 | 1 August 1976 | 2 years, 18 days | Yvon Bourges | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing | - |
| 54 | | Amiral Jean-René Lannuzel [fr] | 1 August 1976 | 1 August 1982 | 6 years, 0 days | Yvon Bourges Joël Le Theule Robert Galley Charles Hernu | Valéry Giscard d'Estaing François Mitterrand | - |
| 55 | | Amiral Yves Leenhardt [fr] | 1 August 1982 | 30 January 1987 | 4 years, 182 days | Charles Hernu Paul Quilès André Giraud | François Mitterrand | - |
| 56 | | Amiral Bernard Louzeau [fr] | 30 January 1987 | 20 November 1990 | 3 years, 294 days | André Giraud Jean-Pierre Chevènement | François Mitterrand | - |
| 57 | | Amiral Alain Coatanéa | 20 November 1990 | 1 July 1994 | 3 years, 223 days | Jean-Pierre Chevènement Pierre Joxe François Léotard | François Mitterrand | - |
| 58 | | Amiral Jean-Charles Lefebvre | 1 July 1994 | 2 May 1999 | 4 years, 305 days | François Léotard Charles Millon Alain Richard | François Mitterrand Jacques Chirac | - |
| 59 | | Amiral Jean-Luc Delaunay [fr] | 2 May 1999 | 1 July 2001 | 2 years, 60 days | Alain Richard | Jacques Chirac | - |
| 60 | | Amiral Jean-Louis Battet [fr] | 1 July 2001 | 15 June 2005 | 3 years, 349 days | Alain Richard Michèle Alliot-Marie | Jacques Chirac | [58] [59] |
| 61 | | Amiral Alain Oudot de Dainville | 15 June 2005 | 4 February 2008 | 2 years, 234 days | Michèle Alliot-Marie Hervé Morin | Jacques Chirac Nicolas Sarkozy | [60] [61] |
| 62 | | Amiral Pierre-François Forissier | 4 February 2008 | 12 September 2011 | 3 years, 220 days | Hervé Morin Alain Juppé Gérard Longuet | Nicolas Sarkozy | - |
| 63 | | Amiral Bernard Rogel | 12 September 2011 | 13 July 2016 | 4 years, 305 days | Gérard Longuet Jean-Yves Le Drian | Nicolas Sarkozy François Hollande | [63] [64] |
| 64 | | Amiral Christophe Prazuck | 13 July 2016 | 1 September 2020 | 4 years, 50 days | Jean-Yves Le Drian Sylvie Goulard Florence Parly | François Hollande Emmanuel Macron | [65] [66] |
| 65 | | Amiral Pierre Vandier | 1 September 2020 | 31 August 2023 | 2 years, 364 days | Florence Parly Sébastien Lecornu | Emmanuel Macron | |
| 66 | | Amiral Nicolas Vaujour [fr] | 1 September 2023 | Incumbent | 1 year, 107 days | Sébastien Lecornu | Emmanuel Macron | |