Troupes de marine The , formerly Troupes coloniales , are an arm of the French Army with a colonial heritage . The " Troupes de marine " have a dedicated overseas service role . Despite their title they have long been a part of the Army , renamed from the Troops Coloniales in 1958 . They are sometimes referred to as French marines in English - speaking media , though they are not connected to either the current French naval infantry , the " Fusiliers Marins " or naval special forces " Commandos Marine " . Soldiers of the ' are likely to spend much more of their service overseas , particularly in Africa , than other French soldiers . The ' include infantry ( including light tank units and airborne units ) and artillery . The ' were founded in 1622 ( officially titled ' ) as land forces under the control of the navy , notably for operations in French Canada . The " " were transferred to the army in 1900 and became part of the " Troupes Coloniales " ( Colonial Troops ) . The nickname " la Coloniale " or " la Colo " refers to this heritage . At their height in 1940 , the " Troupes Coloniales " consisted of nine divisions and several demi - brigade s who manned machine gun emplacements on the Maginot Line . They were recruited both in France and overseas . With France divesting itself of its colonies , the historic title of " Troupes de marine " was readopted on 4 May 1961 . This was after a brief period from 1958 when all the " Troupes Coloniales " had been designated as " Troupes d ' Outre - Mer " ( Overseas Troops ) . They became a major component in France ' s " Forces d ' Intervention " . History . The " Troupes de Marine " originate from the ' created in 1622 by Cardinal Richelieu . These were troops dedicated to naval combat . The French colonies were under the control of the ' ( analogous to the British Admiralty ) , so it used its marines for colonial defense as well . The pre - Revolutionary " infanterie de la marine " was made up of : Prior to the First Republic , the ' had been superseded by the ' on January 1 , 1786 . The " was an early attempt to use sailors for duties previously done by marines – soldiers specializing in naval and amphibious combat . The February 21 , 1816 , royal ordinance of Louis XVIII re - establishing ' authorized two regiments . ' was increased to three regiments in 1838 and to four in 1854 . The 1st Regiment was located in Cherbourg , the 2nd in Brest , the 3rd in Rochefort and the 4th in Toulon . In 1890 , ' was increased to eight regiments . ' , created in 1793 , was formed into a single regiment in 1814 . A second was added on July 8 , 1893 . Battles fought in this era included those in the Crimean War including Bomarsund ( 1847 ) in the Baltic , Ki Hoa in China ( 1860 ) , and Mexico ( Battle of Puebla ) ( 1863 ) . Their most famous battle was Bazeilles ( 1870 ) in the Franco - Prussian War . The " fought with distinction during the Sino – French War ( August 1884 to April 1885 ) and during the period of undeclared hostilities in Tonkin ( northern Vietnam ) that preceded it . Between June 1883 and April 1886 the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps included several marine infantry battalions and marine artillery batteries . These units saw service in the Sơn Tây Campaign ( December 1883 ) , the Bắc Ninh Campaign ( March 1884 ) , the Capture of Hung Hoa ( April 1884 ) , the Bắc Lệ ambush ( June 1884 ) , the Keelung Campaign ( October 1884 to June 1885 ) , the Battle of Yu Oc ( November 1884 ) , the Battle of Nui Bop ( January 1885 ) , the Lạng Sơn Campaign ( February 1885 ) and the Pescadores Campaign ( March 1885 ) . In March 1885 the two marine infantry battalions in Lieutenant - Colonel Ange - Laurent Giovanninelli ' s 1st Brigade suffered heavy casualties storming the Chinese trenches at the Battle of Hoa Moc . The French victory at Hoa Moc relieved the Siege of Tuyên Quang , and was commemorated thereafter in an annual ceremony at Tuyen Quang in which a soldier of the French Foreign Legion ( representing the besieged garrison ) and a marine infantrymen ( representing the relief column ) solemnly presented arms on the anniversary of the relief of the beleaguered French post . The French Navy itself , due to the trouble it was having in obtaining marine infantry detachments from the Ministry of Marine , formed the ' in 1856 . The ' was initially composed of sailors and naval officers who undertook special infantry training in order to form the " marine " detachments aboard ships and conduct small scale landings . On 7 July 1900 the ' were removed from the responsibility of the ' , transferred to the Ministry of War and added to the French Army as " Troupes Coloniales " . The regimental titles changed from " Marine " to " Colonial " . The ' remained with the French Navy . The ' were still used in occasional amphibious landings but this was because of the ready availability of units normally based near naval embarkation ports or in colonial garrisons . In the World War I Dardanelles campaign , the Corps Expeditionaire d ' Orient was more than two - thirds " " including the 4th , 6th , 7th and 8th Colonial Infantry Regiments and Colonial Artillery . The " Troupes Coloniales " were however far more likely to see action in African or Asian land campaigns or , during both World Wars , in France itself . In World War II , a Colonial unit did have " Marine " in its title – The Bataillon d ' Infanterie de Marine du Pacifique ( BIMP ) . Two divisions of the " " were trained in amphibious tactics by the Americans and performed amphibious landings at Corsica ( 6th Moroccan Mountain Division ) and Elba ( 9th Colonial Infantry Division – 9e DIC ) . Both these divisions also landed in southern France in the follow - on echelons of Operation Dragoon . The French wanted the US to transport these two divisions to the Pacific to fight against the Japanese and later retake French Indochina , but transport was a problem . With France divesting itself of its colonies , on 1 December 1958 the title of " Troupes d ' Outre - Mer " ( Overseas Troops ) replaced that of " Troupes Coloniales " . Finally , on 4 May 1961 , the historic designation of " Troupes de marine " was readopted , this time for all the " Troupes Coloniales " . They became a major component in France ' s Forces d ' Intervention . On July 1963 the ' ( 9e BIMa ) of the ' was formed as the first French Force d ' Intervention . It was named after and carried the insignia of the 9th Colonial Infantry Division ( 9e DIC ) that had performed a successful amphibious assault on Elba in World War II . The ' remaining overseas became part of the Forces d ' outre mer . In 1964 the Force d ' Intervention was expanded by adding two airborne brigades and one motorized brigade and formed into the 11th ' , which became the 11th Parachute Division in 1971 . The ' were removed from this division in 1976 to form a separate intervention force , and the ' was expanded on 1 January 1976 to form the " ( 9e DIMa ) . This division was the amphibious component of the Force d ' Intervention , which was renamed the Force d ' Action Rapide ( FAR ) in 1983 . Because of their overseas heritage and their use in the Force d ' Intervention , the ' were mostly volunteer regulars as in France draftees are legally exempt from overseas duty . The conversion of the French Army into a smaller professional force led to the French Army ' s decision to make the brigade its largest formation and the ' was reduced in size on 1 July 1999 and became the " . The " Troupes de marine " are one of the " " ( corps ) of the French Army , which includes specialties associated with other corps ( artillery , cavalry , signals ) but with overseas deployment as a specialisation . Nicknames . " Troupes de marine " soldiers are known in French as " " ( " Harbour porpoise " ) , allegedly because , like porpoises , they accompany ships without really being part of the crew . Marine Gunners are known as " bigors " , a nickname whose origin is disputed . It could come from ' which was the order given for loading the guns on a ship . It could also come from ' ( winkle in English ) , either due to their toughness and unwillingness to desert their positions in combat or because their duties usually had them stuck on coastal rocks . Composition . The " Troupes de Marine " include : Uniform . The modern " Troupes de marine " uniform is the same as for other units of the French Army ( light beige , plain green or woodland or desert camouflage according to circumstances ) . Distinctive features are a gold metal fouled anchor badge on a dark blue beret ( Marine paratroopers wear red beret s and their badge is a composite of the gold metal anchor and the silver wing of airborne units ) . This is worn either on the beret or embroidered on the front of the kepi . The modern full dress includes a dark blue kepi , yellow fringed epaulette s ( official colour name is daffodil ) and a navy blue cravat ( scarf worn around the neck ) . A red waist sash is also sometimes worn by certain units with a history of colonial service in Africa and Indo - China . Historically the uniform consisted of a blue kepi with red piping , double breasted navy blue tunic , lighter blue trousers , and the yellow epaulettes still worn . Worn by all ranks until 1914 , the blue uniform was reissued for regular personnel in 1930 and is still worn by bandsmen . This traditional uniform gave the nickname of " the Blue Division " to the " Troupes de marine " units involved in the 1870 Franco - Prussian War . The pith helmet was worn overseas during the colonial period , with blue , khaki or white uniforms according to circumstances . Until the early 1960s a dark blue " calot " ( forage cap ) with red piping and anchor badge was the usual distinction of the " Troupes de marine " . Kepi and traditional epaulettes . The modern kepi is presented to new recruits in a solemn ceremony . It is worn by executive officers when another headdress is not prescribed . As noted above it includes the anchor badge , symbol of the marine troops . Its color is dark blue , not black . When not being worn the kepi is expected to be positioned so that the anchor is always visible . The epaulettes " of tradition " are gold for officers and NCOs and wool of " daffodil " yellow for other ranks . This colour and pattern is derived from the historic epaulettes of the Metropolitan light infantry . Golden Spurs . The officers of marine " mounted " units ( that is to say those formerly using horses , or currently armored vehicles ) have the privilege of wearing gold spurs for certain occasions . This differs from the usual French cavalry practice of wearing silver spurs . Tradition has it that Queen Victoria of England requested this distinction for the marine troops from Emperor Napoleon III to honor the branch after the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimea ( 1854 ) where marine infantry saved British troops from destruction . The tie . The tie is black , in memory of marsouins and Bigor fallen in battle ( Bazeilles ) . The red beret . Inherited from the British SAS the red beret was awarded to French paratroopers by King George VI . It was worn officially for the first time in the French army by the 2nd and 3e RCPs at a parade on 11 November 1944 . After undergoing a few modifications , the crimson beret became the standard headdress for all French ' Metropolitan ' and ' Marine ' airborne troops in 1957 , except for the Foreign Legion paratroops who retained the green beret of the Legion . Marsouins , Bigors and Biffins . The nickname used by Marsouins and Bigors for the other branches of the French Army is biffins ( slang for ragmen ) . The name originated in the nineteenth century when sailors of the Fleet and Marine Infantry and Artillerymen , proud of their own smart appearance , accused the soldiers of the Army of being slovenly by comparison . The Legion is excused this nickname , probably reflecting a special relation between Marsouins and legionnaires . Traditions . " The Feast of the Marines : " in the name of God , long live the colonials " . This expression is believed to have originated with the famous missionary Charles de Foucauld who , when rescued by colonial troops , exclaimed " In the name of God , the great colonials ! " . Annual ceremonies celebrating the marine troops take place on August 31 and September 1 – the anniversary of the Blue Division . On August 31 detachments of all marine units parade at Fréjus where the Museum of Marine Troops is located . On 1 September veterans hold a ceremony at Bazeilles in Ardennes . The anchor of gold . As a naval symbol since ancient times , the anchor appeared on the uniforms of French sailors from the late eighteenth century . The Marine Infantry and Artillery troops adopted this insignia at the same time and it remains the modern symbol of the " Troupes de marine " . Location . The particular role of this branch of the French Army is to consolidate various specialties : infantry , artillery , cavalry ( armored ) , parachuting and transmission . These specialties , which are consolidated in the " Troupes de marine " branch , form separate arms in the rest of the Army . Anthem . This song is sung at a brisk pace to marching music The values of marine troops . Formed initially to be deployed for service on Frances overseas territories to maintain French interests , the marine troops have acquired a culture of openness . In addition , foreign missions have required the weapon it covers areas of varied specialties ( combat infantry and armor , fire support , communications . . . ) the exercise of which , today , reinforces a long history of professionalization . Transcending the concept of mastering the technical military , marine troops to unite around a single symbol , the anchor of gold , marks a unique style whose main features are :