French Army The French Army , officially the Armée de Terre ( ) , is the land - based and largest component of the French Armed Forces . Just like the Armée de l ' Air , the Marine Nationale and the Gendarmerie Nationale , it is placed under the responsibility of the French government . The current Chief of Staff of the French Army ( CEMAT ) is general Bertrand Ract - Madoux . All soldiers are considered professionals following the suspension of conscription , voted in parliament in 1997 and made effective in 2001 . As of early 2012 , the French Army employs 122 , 328 regular personnel ( including the French Foreign Legion ) . In addition , the reserve element of the French Army consisted of ; 16 , 006 personnel of the Operational Reserve and 14 , 920 personnel of the Citizens Reserve . Mission statement . In 1999 the Army issued the " Code of the French Soldier " , which includes the injunctions : History . The first permanent army , paid with regular wages , was established under Charles VII of France . From 1792 , the French Revolutionary Army fought the allies . Under Napoleon I , the French Army conquered most of Europe during the Napoleonic Wars . In August 1914 , the French Armed Forces numbered soldiers . During the First World War the French Armed Forces reached a size of soldiers , of which about 300 , 000 came from the colonies . During the war around 1 , 400 , 000 soldiers were killed . It was the most deadly conflict in French history . The main generals were : Joseph Joffre , Ferdinand Foch , Charles Mangin , Philippe Pétain , Robert Nivelle , Franchet d ' Esperey and Maurice Sarrail ( See French Army in World War I ) . At the beginning of the war , the French Army was wearing the uniform of the Franco - Prussian War of 1870 , but the uniform was maladapted to the trenches , and so in 1915 the Army replaced the uniform , with the Adrian helmet replacing the képi . A uniform with a capote , of bleu - horizon colour adopted to the trenches , was adopted , and the uniform for colonial soldiers coloured khaki . At the beginning of the Second World War the Army deployed 2 , 240 , 000 combatants grouped into 94 divisions ( of which 20 were active and 74 were reservist s ) from the Swiss border to the North Sea . These numbers did not include the Army of the Alps facing Italy and 600 , 000 men dispersed through the French colonial empire are not included in this figure . After defeat in 1940 , the Vichy Army was allowed to retain 100 - 120 , 000 personnel in unoccupied France , and larger forces in the French Empire : more than 220 , 000 in Africa ( including 140 , 000 in French North Africa ) , and forces in Mandate Syria and French Indochina . After 1945 , despite enormous efforts in the First Indochina War of 1945 – 1954 and the Algerian War of 1954 – 62 , both lands eventually left French control . During the Cold War , the French Army , though not part of NATO ' s military command structure , planned for the defence of Western Europe . In 1977 the French Army switched from multi - brigade divisions to smaller divisions of about four to five battalions / regiments each . After 1977 , II Corps ( France ) was stationed in South Germany , and effectively formed a reserve for NATO ' s Central Army Group . In the 1980s , III Corps headquarters was moved to Lille and planning started for its use in support of NATO ' s Northern Army Group . The Rapid Action Force of five light divisions was also intended as a NATO reinforcement force . In the 1970s - 1980s , two light armoured divisions were planned to be formed from school staffs ( the 12th and 14th ) . The 12th Light Armoured Division ( 12 DLB ) was to have its headquarters to be formed on the basis of the staff of the Armoured and Cavalry Branch Training School ( French acronym EAABC ) at Saumur . In the late 1970s an attempt was made to form 14 reserve light infantry divisions , but this plan , which included the recreation of the , was too ambitious . The planned divisions included the 102nd , 104e , 107e , 108e , 109e , 110e , 111e , 112e , 114e , 115th , and 127th Infantry Divisions . From June 1984 , the French Army reserve consisted of 22 military divisions , administering all reserve units in a certain area , seven " brigades de zone de defence , " 22 regiments interarmees divisionnaires , and the 152nd Infantry Division , defending the ICBM launch sites . The plan was put into action from 1985 , and " brigades de zone " , such as the 107th Brigade de Zone , were created . But with the putting - in - place of the " Réserves 2000 " plan , the brigades de zone were finally disbanded by mid - 1993 . In February 1996 the President of the Republic decided on a transition to a professional service force , and as part of the resulting changes , ten regiments were dissolved in 1997 . The specialized support brigades were transferred on 1 July 1997 to Lunéville for the signals , Haguenau ( the artillery brigade ) and Strasbourg ( engineers ) . The 2nd Armoured Division left Versailles on 1 September 1997 and was installed at Châlons - en - Champagne in place of the disbanding 10th Armoured Division . On 5 March 1998 , in view of the ongoing structural adoptions of the French Army , the Minister of Defence decided to disband III Corps , and the dissolution became effective 1 July 1998 . The headquarters transitioned to become Headquarters Commandement de la force d ' action terrestre ( CFAT ) ( the Land Forces Action Command ) . During the late 1990s , during the professionalisation process , numbers dropped from the 1996 236 , 000 ( 132 , 000 conscripts ) to around 140 , 000 . By June 1999 , the Army ' s strength had dropped to 186 , 000 , including around 70 , 000 conscripts . 38 of 129 regiments were planned to be stood down from 1997 – 99 . The previous structure ' s nine ' small ' divisions and sundry separate combat and combat support brigades were replaced by nine combat and four combat support brigades . The Rapid Action Force , a corps of five small rapid - intervention divisions formed in 1983 , was also disbanded , though several of its divisions were re - subordinated . Structure and organisation . The organisation of the army is fixed by Chapter 2 of Title II of Book II of the Third Part of the Code of Defense , notably resulting in the codification of Decree 2000 - 559 of 21 June 2000 . In terms of Article R . 3222 - 3 of the Code of Defence , the Army comprises : The operational organisation of the Army combines units from various Corps in 17 Brigades under the Commandement des Forces Terrestres . In 2011 CFT directs the Corps de réaction rapide France , two " Etat - Major des Forces " ( division - level headquarters ) , the 1st Mechanised Brigade , the 2nd Armoured Brigade , the 3rd Mechanised Brigade , the 6th Light Armoured Brigade , the 7th Armoured Brigade , the 9th Light Armoured Marine Brigade , the 11th Parachute Brigade and the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade . The Army is divided into Corps or " armes " . They include the Troupes de Marine , composed of Marine Infantry ( " Infanterie de Marine " ) , which includes parachute regiments such as 1er RPIMa and light cavalry such as the RICM , Marine Artillery ( " Artillerie de Marine " ) , the French Foreign Legion ( " Légion étrangère " ) , the Armoured Cavalry Branch ( " Arme Blindée Cavalerie " ) , the Artillery , the " Aviation Légère de l ' Armée de Terre " ( ALAT , which translates as Light Aviation of the Land Army ) , including combat helicopter s ; Military engineer s ( " Génie Militaire " ) ; the Infantry , which includes the Chasseurs Alpins , specialist mountain infantry , Maintenance " Matériel " ; Logistics ( " Train " ) ; Signals ( " Transmissions " ) ; and Commissariat ( Commissariat de l ' armée de terre ) . Branches of the French Army . Army Light Aviation . The French Army Light Aviation was established on 22 November 1954 for observation , reconnaissance , assault and supply duties . It operates numerous helicopters in support of the French Army , its primary attack helicopter is the Eurocopter Tiger , of which 80 were ordered . For a complete list of aircraft see French Army Light Aviation . French Foreign Legion . The French Foreign Legion was established in 1831 for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces . The Legion is commanded by French officers . It is an elite military unit numbering around 7 , 000 troops . The Legion has gained world wide recognition for its service , most recently in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan since 2001 . Troupes de Marine . The " Troupes de marine " are the Marine Infantry of the French Army , the former Colonial Troops , deployed overseas . They work closely with the French Navy and as such are often deployed around the world . Uniform . In the 1970s France adopted a light beige dress uniform which is worn with coloured kepi s , sash es , fringed epaulette s , fourragère s and other traditional items on appropriate occasions . The most commonly worn parade dress however consists of camouflage uniforms worn with the dress items noted above . The legionnaires of the French Foreign Legion wear white kepis , blue sashes and green and red epaulettes as dress uniform , while the Troupes de marine wear blue and red kepis and yellow epaulettes . The pioneers of the French Foreign Legion wear the basic legionnaire uniform but with leather aprons and gloves . The Chasseurs Alpins wear a large beret , known as the " tarte " ( the " pie " ) with dark blue or white mountain outfits . The Spahi s retain the long white cloak or " burnous " of the regiment ' s origin as North African cavalry . Sailors of the French Navy and Fusiliers Marins wear a dress uniform dating from the nineteenth century with a distinctive red pom - pom on the crown of the round cap . The infantry and cavalry of the Republican Guard retain their late 19th century dress uniforms , as do the military cadets of Saint - Cyr and the École Polytechnique . A medium blue evening dress for officers is now seldom seen but individual branches or regiments may parade bands or " fanfares " in historic dress dating as far back as the Napoleonic period .