Chasseurs Alpins The Chasseurs Alpins ( ) are the élite mountain infantry of the French Army . They are trained to operate in mountainous terrain and in urban warfare . History . France created its own mountain corps in the late 19th century in order to oppose any Italian invasion through the Alps . In 1859 , the former independent states of Italy such as the Kingdom of Naples , Republic of Venice or the Papal States were unified through the campaigns of Garibaldi and Cavour . The French military saw this geopolitical change as a potential threat to their Alpine border , especially as the Italian military was already creating troops specialized in mountain warfare ( the Alpini ) . On December 24 , 1888 , the first troupes de montagne ( " mountain troops " ) corps were created from 12 out of the 31 existing Chasseur s à Pied ( " Hunters on Foot " ) battalions . Initially these units were named Bataillons Alpins de Chasseurs à Pied ( " Alpine Battalions of Hunters / Rangers on Foot " ) . Later this was shortened to Bataillons de Chasseurs Alpins ( " Battalions of Alpine Hunters / Rangers " ) . From their establishment the Chasseurs Alpins wore a plain and practical uniform designed to be suitable for mountain service . This comprised a loose - fitting dark blue jacket and blue - grey breeches , together with a large beret carrying the yellow bugle horn insignia of the Chasseur branch . They are believed to have been the first regular military unit to have worn this form of headdress . Modern unit . Since 1999 they have been ( with other units ) part of the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade ( " Brigade d ' Infanterie de Montagne " ) , and are currently organised into three battalion s : All three battalions are based in cities in the French Alps , thus the name of the units . Training includes climbing , cross - country skiing , plus winter and summer mountain leadership and mountain guiding skills . Traditional training included mountain survival skills such as to build an igloo shelter and to sleep in temperatures around 0°C . Modern troops may be transported in all - terrain VMBs , VACs , ( Bandvagn 206 ) or untracked VAB personnel carriers . Personal weaponry includes the FAMAS assault rifle , Minimi machine gun , FRF - 2 sniper rifle , PGM Hécate II heavy sniper rifle , and LGI light mortar , while group weapons included the M2 machine gun , LLR 81mm mortar , and vehicle - mounted 20 mm autocannon , plus AT4 , ERYX and MILAN anti - tank missiles . The " Chasseurs " are easily recognised by their wide beret ( when not in battle uniform ) , named the " tarte " ( after a type of pie ) . Note though that this is also worn by other mountain troops , such as the cavalry , artillery and signals . However the mountain troops of the Foreign Legion engineers wear the legion green beret . The 16th Battalion of Chasseurs are not mountain troops and wear the standard French Army blue beret with the chasseur cap badge . Various Traditions . Chasseurs do not say " rouge " ( red ) but " bleu - cerise " ( cherry blue ) , except when speaking of the color of the lips of a beloved , the red in the Legion of Honour ' s insignia ( including its fourragère which is called " la rouge " ) , and the red of the French flag . This stems from the days when Napoleon III tried to impose the wearing of the scarlet " pantalons garance " . The mountain troops objected , and no longer use the word ' red ' as a result . The chasseurs have a few other typicalities in what they say : The Chasseurs are said to have green blood , after the pun : " Le sang vert , c ' est pour la France / Le sang versé pour la France " ( Green blood is for France / Blood shed for France ) . Note that these traditions are also shared by the 16th Batallion of Chasseurs , who are not chasseurs alpins . Choruses and Ringin . A chasseur salutes when he hears the chorus of his battalion , or Les Allobroges ( the anthem of Savoie ) . Each battalion has a different chorus , and a chasseur must learn all of them : The flag . There is a single flag for all the battalions of chasseurs ; the colours are held at the Fort Neuf de Vincennes . The color guard is divided between the 7th , 13th and 27th battalion ( 16th now disbanded ) . Ranks . Officers . Note : the NCO ranks " Brigadier " and " Maréchal - des - logis " are not used in the Chasseurs Alpins corps since they belong to the infantry .