Édouard Guillaud Admiral Édouard Guillaud ( born 10 July 1953 ) is a French Navy officer and admiral . He has devoted a significant part of his career to the design of the " Charles De Gaulle " , and eventually captained her . He currently serves as Chief of the Defence Staff . Guillaud assumed his current assignment on 25 February 2010 . Biography . Early life . Édouard Guillaud was born to the family of Jean - Louis Guillaud , former president of Agence France - Presse and TF1 . He studied at the lycée Hector Berlioz in Vincennes and at the Ecole Sainte Geneviève in Versailles . He joined the École navale in 1973 . Junior officer . Upon graduation , in 1978 , he served on the escort " Paimpolaise " , monitoring the nuclear trials in Mururoa , and on the SNLE " Indomptable " and on the " Redoutable " . In 1979 Guillaud took command of the minesweeped " Lobelia " , for one year . The next year , he studied for a specialisation in gunnery and missiles . In the early 80s , Guillaud was sent in exchange in the USA . He then served on the aviso " Amyot d ' Inville " and the T 47 - class destroyer s " Du Chayla " and " Kersaint " , cruising off Iran and Lebanon in 1983 . From 1984 to 1987 , he worked on the nuclear aircraft carrier programme , particularly on expert system s in the computer environment of the ship . He was promoted to " capitaine de corvette " in 1985 . Senior officer . In 1987 he took command of the BATRAL " Dumont d ' Urville " for one year , taking part in the operations surrounding the Ouvéa cave hostage taking . Guillaud went on to study at the École supérieure de guerre navale and at the cours supérieur interarmées , rising to " capitaine de frégate " in 1989 . He specialised in nuclear engineering , obtaining a degree in 1990 . In 1991 , with the start of the Gulf War , Guillaud was sent on the " Clemenceau " , where he served as a maneuver officer . In 1992 , he took command of the light escort " Enseigne de vaisseau Henry " ( F749 ) . In 1993 , he re - integrated the design team for the nuclear carrier . Guillaud was promoted to " capitaine de vaisseau " in 1996 . The next year , he took the position of second officer on the " Charles De Gaulle " , then being completed in Brest . From 1999 to 2001 , Guillaud captained the nuclear carrier " Charles De Gaulle " , supervising her trials and fittings . The next year , he studied at the Centre des hautes études militaires and at the Institut des hautes études de Défense nationale . Admiral . From 2002 to 2004 , he served as the naval aid to the chief of the personal staff of the President of the Republic . Between 2004 and 2006 , Guillaud was préfet maritime for the English Channel and the North Sea . He was promoted to " vice - amiral " on 1 April 2006 . The same year , he was called by Jacques Chirac to take on the position of Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic , replacing General Georgelin ; Guillaud took the office on 4 October , and was confirmed in this role in May 2007 after the election of Nicolas Sarkozy . In December 2007 he was promoted to admiral . Guillaud has taken office as Chief of the Defence Staff on 25 February 2010 . Since 19 March 2011 , he has commanded the French forces enforcing the Libyan no - fly zone . In 2013 he commands the French Forces in the Mali Civil War .