# François Lecointre

François Gérard Marie Lecointre (French pronunciation:; born 6 February 1962) is a French army general who has served as Grand Chancellor of the Order of the Legion of Honour since 1 February 2023. He previously served as Chief of the Defence Staff between 2017 and 2021.
The son of a naval officer, Lecointre joined the French Army in 1984. As a captain, with Lieutenant Bruno Heluin (platoon leader) as the company commanding officer, he led an assault at the Battle of Vrbanja Bridge in 1995 that was the latest fixed bayonet charge of the French Armed Forces.

## Biography

François Lecointre was born on 6 February 1962 in Cherbourg into a military family. His father, Yves Urbain Marie Lecointre (5 April 1932 – 17 July 1985), was a French naval officer and submariner who served as the commandant of SNLE Le Redoutable. One of his uncles, Hélie de Roffignac, was a cavalry officer who died in Algeria at the age of 23. A practicing Catholic, François Lecointre is married since 1986 and has four daughters.

## Military career

Lecointre attended preparatory classes at the Prytanée National Militaire in La Flèche. He subsequently studied at the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (Promotion Général Monclar) from 1984 to 1987 and then at the Infantry School from 1987 to 1988.
Lecointre joined the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment, where he served from 1988 to 1991. Lecointre was promoted from lieutenant to captain in the marine infantry on 1 July 1991.
From 1993 to 1996, he was a combat company commander of the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment in Vannes. As a captain, Lecointre was involved in the Opération Turquoise in 1994 in Rwanda. He commanded the 1st company of the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment (3$^e$ RIMa) in the Groupement Nord Turquoise. Lecointre was also engaged with French forces under the command of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) during the Bosnian War. Under the orders of General Hervé Gobilliard and Colonel Erik Sandahl, Lecointre and Lieutenant Bruno Heluin led a bayonet charge to win the Battle of Vrbanja Bridge on 27 May 1995. According to journalist Jean Guisnel, the episode turned the tide of the war and led to victory in Bosnia.
From 1996 to 1999, Lecointre was an instructor at the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr in Coëtquidan, Morbihan where he trained student officers in military tactics. From 1999 to 2001, he was a trainee officer at the Joint Defense College (now École Militaire). He then served in the office of the Chief of Staff of the French Army in Paris at the crops bureau of system conception forces.
From 2005 to 2007, Colonel Lecointre was the commanding officer of the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment in Vannes.
From 2007 to 2008, he studied at the Center of High Military Studies (CHEM) and was an auditor at the Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN) in Paris.
He was promoted to brigade general on 1 August 2011; he was in command of the 9th Marine Infantry Brigade in Poitiers until 2013. Lecointre was later appointed as commander of the European Union Training Mission in Mali from January to July 2013.
He rejoined the general staff headquarters of the French Army as a chargé de mission, becoming deputy-chief of the defence staff for "performance-synthèse" from 2014 to 2016. Lecointre was promoted to division general on 1 January 2015.
Head of the Prime Minister's military cabinet from August 2016, Lecointre was elevated by a decree of President François Hollande from the first section of general officers to the rank of corps general on 1 March 2017.
On 20 July 2017, Lecointre was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff by President Emmanuel Macron, following the resignation of General Pierre de Villiers; he was promoted to the rank of Général d'armée. General Lecointre made his first official visit to the United States in February 2018, where he met with his American counterpart Joseph Dunford to discuss the ongoing War against the Islamic State and progress on the G5 Sahel.
On 21 July 2021, Lecointre retired from active service and was succeeded by General Thierry Burkhard as Chief of Defence Staff. After a brief period outside the public eye, he was made Grand Cross and Grand Chancellor of the Order of the Legion of Honour per 1 February 2023, succeeding fellow retired General Benoît Puga.

## Military ranks

| Cadet | Aspirant | Second lieutenant | Lieutenant | Captain | Battalion chief |
| 1984 | 1985 | 1 August 1986 | 1 August 1987 | 1 August 1991 | 1 December 1996 |
| Lieutenant colonel | Colonel | Brigade general | Division general | Corps general | Army general |
| 1 December 2000 | 1 December 2003 | 1 August 2011 | 1 January 2015 | 1 March 2017 | 20 July 2017 |

## Honours and decorations

Honours and decorations :
| National honours ||||
| Ribbon bar | Name | Date | Source |
| | Grand Cross of the National Order of the Legion of Honour | 18 January 2023 | |
| | Grand Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour | 2 July 2018 | |
| | Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour | 28 August 2014 | |
| | Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour | 14 July 2006 | |
| | Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour | 23 June 1995 | |
| | Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit | 18 January 2023 |
| | Commander of the National Order of Merit | 5 May 2011 | |
| | Officer of the National Order of Merit | 10 December 2002 | |
| | Commander of the Order of Academic Palms | 2023 |
| | Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres | 2023 |
| Military decorations ||||
| Ribbon bar | Name | Name | Source |
| | War Cross for foreign operational theatres - Silver-gilt star (corps level citation) | War Cross for foreign operational theatres - Silver-gilt star (corps level citation) | - |
| | Cross for Military Valour - Bronze palm and two bronze stars (army level citation, brigade level citation and regiment level citation) | Cross for Military Valour - Bronze palm and two bronze stars (army level citation, brigade level citation and regiment level citation) | - |
| | Combatant's Cross | Combatant's Cross | - |
| | Overseas Medal - Four clasps | Overseas Medal - Four clasps | - |
| | National Defence Medal - Silver grade with two clasps | National Defence Medal - Silver grade with two clasps | - |
| | Medal of the Nation's Gratitude - One clasp | Medal of the Nation's Gratitude - One clasp | - |
| | French commemorative medal - One clasp | French commemorative medal - One clasp | - |
| | United Nations Medal - UNOSOM II | United Nations Medal - UNOSOM II | - |
| | United Nations Medal - UNPROFOR, SARAJEVO clasp | United Nations Medal - UNPROFOR, SARAJEVO clasp | - |
| | CSDP EUTM Mali Operations Medal - EUTM Mali clasp | CSDP EUTM Mali Operations Medal - EUTM Mali clasp | - |
| | CSDP EUTM Mali Staff Medal - EUTM Mali clasp | CSDP EUTM Mali Staff Medal - EUTM Mali clasp | - |
| Foreign honours ||||
| Ribbon bar | Name | Country | Source |
| | Kuwait Liberation Medal | Saudi Arabia | - |
| | Kuwait Liberation Medal | Kuwait | - |
| | Grand Cordon of the Order of Military Merit (Morocco) | Morocco | - |
| | Gran Cross of the Medalha de Mérito Militar | Portugal | |
| | Gold Grade of the Military Valor Medal | Portugal | |
| | Gold and Silver Star of the Order of the Rising Sun | Japan | - |
| | Medal of Gratitude of the Armed Forces | Gabon | |
| | Commander of the National Order of Mali | Mali | |
| | Commander of the National Order of the Lion | Senegal | |
| | Commander of the National Order of Chad | Chad | |
| | Polish Medal of the 100th Anniversary of the establishment of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces | Poland | |
| | Commander of the Legion of Merit | United States | - |
| | Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic | Italy | - |
| Badges ||||
| Insignia | Name | Name | Name |
| | French Parachutist Badge | French Parachutist Badge | French Parachutist Badge |
| | Chief of the Defence Staff Badge | Chief of the Defence Staff Badge | Chief of the Defence Staff Badge |

## Publications

* François Lecointre (dir.), Le soldat : XXe – XXIe siècle, Gallimard, coll. « Folio Histoire », 2018. With a foreword by French historian Jean-Pierre Rioux. This book is a collection of articles published in the French review of military studies : Inflexions - Civils et militaires : pouvoir dire, of which general Lecointre was a publishing director in 2015–2017.
* Entre guerres, Gallimard, 2024.