TheFrench Navy (French:Marine nationale,pronounced[maʁinnɑsjɔnal],lit. 'National Navy'), informallyLa Royale (French pronunciation:[laʁwajal],lit. 'The Royal [One]'), is themaritime arm of theFrench Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches ofFrance. It is among the largest and most powerfulnaval forces in the world recognised as being ablue-water navy.[4][5][6] The French Navy is capable of operating globally and conducting expeditionary missions, maintaining a significantoverseas presence. The French Navy is one of eight naval forces currently operatingfixed-wingaircraft carriers,[Note 1] with its flagshipCharles de Gaulle being the onlynuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside theUnited States Navy, and one of two non-American vessels to usecatapults to launch aircraft.[7][8]
Founded in the 17th century, the French Navy is one of the oldest navies still in continuous service, with precursors dating back to the Middle Ages. It has taken part in key events in French history, including the Napoleonic Wars and both world wars, and played a critical role in establishing and securing theFrench colonial empire for over 400 years. The French Navy pioneered several innovations in naval technology, including the first steam-poweredship of the line, first seagoingironclad warship, first mechanically propelledsubmarine, first steel-hulled warship, and firstarmoured cruiser.
The French Navy consists of six main components: theNaval Action Force, theSubmarine Forces (FOST andESNA),French Naval Aviation, theNavy Riflemen (includingNaval Commandos), theMarseille Naval Fire Battalion, and theMaritime Gendarmerie. As of 2021, the French Navy employed 44,000 personnel (37,000 military and 7,000 civilian), more than 180 ships, 200 aircraft, and six commandos units;[9] as of 2014, itsreserve element numbered roughly 48,000.[10]
It operates a wide range of fighting vessels, including various aeronaval forces,attack andballistic missilesubmarines,frigates,patrol boats and support ships, with aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle serving as the centrepiece of most expeditionary forces.
The history of French naval power dates back to theMiddle Ages, and had three loci of evolution:
The first true French Royal Navy (French:la Marine Royale) was established in 1626 byCardinal Richelieu, chief minister to KingLouis XIII. During theFrench Revolution,la Marine Royale was formally renamedla Marine Nationale. Under theFirst French Empire and theSecond French Empire, the navy was designated as theImperial French Navy (la Marine impériale française). Institutionally, however, the navy has never lost its short familiar nickname,la Royale.
The original symbol of the French Navy was a goldenanchor, which, beginning in 1830, was interlaced by asailing rope; this symbol was featured on all naval vessels, arms, and uniforms.[11] Although anchor symbols are still used on uniforms, a new naval logo was introduced in 1990 underNaval Chief of Staff Bernard Louzeau, featuring a modern design that incorporates thetricolour—by flanking the bow section of a white warship with two ascending red and blue spray foams—and the inscription "Marine nationale".
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Cardinal Richelieu personally supervised the Navy until his death in 1643.[12] He was succeeded by his protégé,Jean Baptiste Colbert, who introduced the first code of regulations of the French Navy and established the original naval dockyards inBrest andToulon.[12] Colbert and his son, theMarquis de Seignelay, between them administered the Navy for twenty-nine years.[12]
During this century, the Navy cut its teeth in theAnglo-French War (1627–1629), theFranco-Spanish War (1635–59), theSecond Anglo-Dutch War, theFranco-Dutch War, and theNine Years' War. Major battles in these years include theBattle of Augusta,Battle of Beachy Head, theBattles of Barfleur and La Hougue, theBattle of Lagos, and theBattle of Texel.
The 1700s opened with theWar of the Spanish Succession, over a decade long, followed by theWar of the Austrian Succession in the 1740s. Principal engagements of these wars include theBattle of Vigo Bay and two separateBattles of Cape Finisterre in 1747. The most grueling conflict for the Navy, however, was theSeven Years' War, in which it was virtually destroyed.[12] Significant actions include theBattle of Cap-Français, theBattle of Quiberon Bay, and anotherBattle of Cape Finisterre.
The Navy regrouped and rebuilt, and within 15 years it was eager to join the fray whenFrance intervened in theAmerican Revolutionary War.[12] Though outnumbered everywhere, the French fleets held the British at bay for years until victory.[12] After this conflict and the concomitantAnglo-French War (1778–1783), the Navy emerged at a new height in its history.[12] Major battles in these years include theBattle of the Chesapeake, theBattle of Cape Henry, theBattle of Grenada, theinvasion of Dominica, and three separateBattles of Ushant.
Within less than a decade, however, the Navy was decimated by theFrench Revolution when large numbers of veteran officers were dismissed or executed for their noble lineage.[12] Nonetheless, the Navy fought vigorously through theFrench Revolutionary Wars as well as theQuasi-War. Significant actions include a fourth Battle of Ushant (known in English as theGlorious First of June), theBattle of Groix, theAtlantic campaign of May 1794, theFrench expedition to Ireland, theBattle of Tory Island, and theBattle of the Nile.
Other engagements of the Revolutionary Wars ensued in the early 1800s, including theBattle of the Malta Convoy and theAlgeciras Campaign. The Quasi-War wound down with single-ship actions includingUSSConstellation vsLa Vengeance andUSSEnterprise vsFlambeau.
WhenNapoleon was crowned Emperor in 1804, he attempted to restore the Navy to a position that would enable his plan for an invasion of England.[12] His dreams were dashed by theBattle of Trafalgar in 1805, where the British all but annihilated a combined Franco-Spanish fleet, a disaster that guaranteed British naval superiority throughout theNapoleonic Wars. Still, the Navy did not shrink from action: among the engagements of this time were theBattle of the Basque Roads, theBattle of Grand Port, theMauritius campaign of 1809–11, and theBattle of Lissa.
After Napoleon's fall in 1815, the long era of Anglo-French rivalry on the seas began to close, and the Navy became more of an instrument for expanding theFrench colonial empire.[12] Under KingCharles X, the two nations' fleets fought side by side in theBattle of Navarino, and throughout the rest of the century they generally behaved in a manner that paved the way for theEntente Cordiale.[12]
Charles X sent a large fleet to execute theinvasion of Algiers in 1830. The next year, his successor,Louis Philippe I, made a show of force against Portugal at theBattle of the Tagus, and in 1838 conducted another display ofgunboat diplomacy, this time in Mexico at theBattle of Veracruz. Beginning in 1845, a five-yearAnglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata was imposed on Argentina over trade rights.
The EmperorNapoleon III was determined to follow an even stronger foreign policy than his predecessors, and the Navy was involved in a multitude of actions around the world. He joined in theCrimean War in 1854; major actions for the Navy include thesiege of Petropavlovsk and theBattle of Kinburn. The Navy was heavily involved in theCochinchina Campaign in 1858, theSecond Opium War in China, and theFrench intervention in Mexico. It took part in theFrench expedition to Korea and theShimonoseki campaign. In theFranco-Prussian War in 1870, the Navy imposed an effective blockade of Germany, but events on land proceeded at such a rapid pace that it was superfluous. Isolated engagements between French and German ships took place in other theaters, but the war was over in a matter of weeks.[13][14]
The Navy continued to protect colonial safety and expansion under theFrench Third Republic. TheSino-French War saw considerable naval action including theBattle of Fuzhou, theBattle of Shipu, and thePescadores Campaign. In Vietnam, the Navy helped wage theTonkin Campaign which included theBattle of Thuận An, and it later participated in theFranco-Siamese conflict of 1893.
The 19th century French Navy brought forth numerous new technologies. It led the development ofnaval artillery with its invention of the highly effectivePaixhans gun. In 1850,Napoléon became the first steam-poweredship of the line in history, andGloire became the first seagoingironclad warship nine years later. In 1863, the Navy launchedPlongeur, the first submarine in the world to be propelled by mechanical power. In 1876,Redoutable became the first steel-hulled warship ever. In 1887,Dupuy de Lôme became the world's firstarmoured cruiser.
During the latter part of the century, French officers developed the so-calledJeune École (Young School) theory that emphasized the use of small, cheaptorpedo boats to destroy expensive battleships, coupled with long-range commerce raiders to attack an opponent's merchant fleet.
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The firstseaplane, the FrenchFabre Hydravion, was flown in 1910, and the firstseaplane carrier,Foudre, was christened in the following year.[15] Despite that innovation, the general development of the French Navy slowed down in the beginning of the 20th century as the naval arms race between Germany and Great Britain grew in intensity.
It enteredWorld War I with relatively few modern vessels, and during the war few warships were built because the main French effort was on land. While the British held control of the North Sea, the French held the Mediterranean, where they mostly kept watch on theAustro-Hungarian Navy.[12] The largest operations of the Navy were conducted during theDardanelles Campaign.[12] In December 1916, during theNoemvriana events, French warships also bombarded Athens, trying to force the pro-German government of Greece to change its policies.[16] The French Navy also played an important role in countering Germany'sU-boat campaign by regularly patrolling the seas and escorting convoys.[12]
Between the World Wars, the Navy modernized and expanded significantly, even in the face of limitations set by the 1922Washington Naval Treaty.[12] New additions included the heavy and fastFantasque class "super-destroyers", theRichelieu-class battleships, and the submarineSurcouf which was the largest and most powerful of its day.
From the start ofWorld War II, the Navy was involved in a number of operations, participating in theBattle of the Atlantic, theNorwegian Campaign, theDunkirk evacuation and, briefly, theBattle of the Mediterranean. However, after thefall of France in June 1940, the Navy was obligated to remain neutral under the terms of the armistice that created the truncated state ofVichy France. Worldwide, some 100 naval vessels and their crews heeded GeneralCharles de Gaulle's call to join forces with the British, but the bulk of the fleet, including all its capital ships, transferred loyalty to Vichy French Navy (Marine de Vichy). Concerned that theGerman Navy might somehow gain control of the ships, the British mounted anattack on Mers-el-Kébir, the Algerian city where many of them were harbored. The incident poisoned Anglo-French relations, leading to Vichy reprisals and a full-scalenaval battle at Casablanca in 1942 when the Allies invadedFrench North Africa. But the confrontations were set aside once the Germansoccupied Vichy France. The capital ships were a primary goal of the occupation, but before they could be seized they werescuttled by their own crews. A few small ships and submarines managed to escape in time, and these joined de Gaulle'sFree French Naval Forces, an arm ofFree France that fought as an adjunct of theRoyal Navy until the end of the war. In thePacific theatre as well, Free French vessels operated until the Japanese capitulation;Richelieu was present at theJapanese Instrument of Surrender.
The Navy later provided fire support and troop transport in theIndochina War, theAlgerian War, theGulf War, and theKosovo War.
Since 2000, the Navy has given logistical support to theWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021) as well as the globalwar on terror. In 2011, it assistedOpération Harmattan in Libya.
The chief of the naval staff is Vice-admiral d’escadreArnaud de Tarlé,[17] and as of 2014 the Navy has an active strength of 36,776 military personnel and 2,909 civilian staff.[18] The Navy is organised into four main operational branches:
In addition, theNational Gendarmerie of France maintain a maritime force of patrol boats that falls under the operational command of the French Navy:
During most of the Cold War, the Navy was organised in two squadrons based in Brest and Toulon, commanded by ALESCLANT (Amiral commandant l'escadre de l'Atlantique) and ALESCMED (Amiral commandant l'escadre de la Méditerranée) respectively. Since the post-Cold War restructuring process named Optimar '95, the two components have been divided into the Naval Action Force (commanded by ALFAN) and the Antisubmarine Group (commanded by ALGASM).[19]
As of 2014, the largest French naval base is themilitary port of Toulon. Other major bases in metropolitan France are theBrest Arsenal andÎle Longue on the Atlantic, andCherbourg Naval Base on the English Channel. Overseas French bases includeFort de France andDegrad des Cannes in the Americas;Port des Galets andDzaoudzi in the Indian Ocean; andNouméa andPapeete in the Pacific. In addition, the navy shares or leases bases in foreign locales such asAbu Dhabi,Dakar andDjibouti.
_underway_in_the_Mediterranean_Sea_on_15_July_2017.JPG)
Although Frenchnaval doctrine calls for twoaircraft carriers, the French only have one,Charles de Gaulle. Originally a planned order forFrench aircraft carrier PA2 was based on the design of the BritishQueen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier recently constructed and launched for the British Royal Navy. However, the French programme had been delayed several times for budgetary reasons and the result was priority being given to the more exportableFREMM project. In April 2013 it was confirmed that the second aircraft carrier project would be abandoned due to defence cuts announced in the2013 French White Paper on Defence and National Security.
The French Navy operates threeamphibious assault ships, elevendestroyers (classified in the French Navy as surface combatants of the "first rank"), five general purpose frigates and has a commitment to sixfleet submarines (SSNs). These vessels, with the aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle, constitute the French Navy's main ocean-going war-fighting force, while the fourballistic missile submarines (SSBN) of the navy'sStrategic Oceanic Force provide the backbone of the Frenchnuclear deterrent.
In addition the French Navy operates six light surveillance frigates and, as of 2025, threeavisos (originally light corvettes now reclassified as offshore patrol vessels). They undertake the navy's offshore patrol duties, the protection of French naval bases andterritorial waters, and can also provide low-end escort capabilities to any oceangoing task force. The Navy also operates a fleet of additional offshore and coastal patrol vessels, mine countermeasures vessels as well as auxiliaries and support ships.
The French Naval Aviation is officially known as theAéronautique navale and was created on the 19 June 1998 with the merging of Naval patrol aircraft and aircraft carrier squadrons. It has a strength of around 6,800 civilian and military personnel operating from four airbases in Metropolitan France. The Aéronavale has been modernized with 40Rafale fighters which operate from the aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle.
| Personnel strength of the French Navy 2015 | ||
| Category | Strength | |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioned officers | 4,500 | |
| Petty officers | 23,600 | |
| Seamen | 6,600 | |
| Volunteers | 767 | |
| Civilian employees | 2,800 | |
| Source:[20] | ||
Seamen must be at least 17 but no more than 30 years old, with no minimum level of schooling.
Petty officers must be at least 17 but no more than 30 years old, with at least a high school diploma giving access to university studies.
Petty officer candidates begin training with five months at the Petty Officer School of Maistrance atBrest.
Contract officers serve on an initial eight-year contract, renewable up to 20 years.
Therank insignia of the French Navy are worn on shoulder straps of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels. Until 2005, onlycommissioned officers had an anchor on their insignia, butenlisted personnel are now receiving them as well. Commanding officers have titles ofcapitaine, but are calledcommandant (in the army, bothcapitaine andcommandant are ranks, which tends to stir some confusion among the public). The two highest ranks,vice-amiral d'escadre andamiral (admiral), are functions, rather than ranks. They are assumed by officers rankingvice-amiral (vice admiral). The onlyamiral de la flotte (Admiral of the Fleet) wasFrançois Darlan after he was refused the dignity ofamiral de France (Admiral of France). Equivalent to the dignity ofMarshal of France, the rank ofamiral de France remains theoretical in theFifth Republic; it was last granted in 1869, during theSecond Empire, but retained during theThird Republic until the death of its bearer in 1873. The title ofamiral de la flotte was created so that Darlan would not have an inferior rank than his counterpart in the BritishRoyal Navy, who had the rank ofAdmiral of the Fleet.
The rank insignia ofcommissioned officers.
The rank insignia ofnon-commissioned officers andenlisted personnel.
| NATO code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 French Navy[21] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major | Maître principal | Premier maître | Maître | Second-maître | Quartier-maître de 1ère classe | Quartier-maître de 2ème classe | Matelot breveté | Matelot | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unlike in theFrench Army andAir and Space Force, one does not prependmon to the name of the rank when addressing an officer (that is, notmon capitaine, but simplycapitaine).[22]
The main military musical unit of the French Navy is the Military Band of theToulon Fleet (French:La musique des équipages de la flotte de Toulon), founded on 13 July 1827.[23] TheBagad Lann Bihoue, based on thebagad bands inBretagne, is currently the solepipe band in the service of the French Navy, which usesbagpipes andbombards, and thus is affiliated to the band.
InCanada, French naval music has affected the traditions ofCanadian navy bands. French navy bands in the country date back to the era ofNew France.[24] Musical units were primarily attached to theCompagnies Franches de la Marine and theTroupes de la marine, the former of which maintained two drums (tambour) and afife.
France'sfinancial problems have affected all branches of her military. The2013 French White Paper on Defence and National Security cancelled the long-plannednew aircraft carrier and a possible fourthMistral-class amphibious assault ship.[25] The backbone of the fleet will be theAquitaine-classFREMM anti-submarine frigates, replacing theGeorges Leygues class, but plans to buy a possible seventeen FREMMs were cut back to eleven and then to eight. The cancellation of the third and fourth Horizon destroyers meant that the last two FREMM hulls, which entered service between 2021 and 2023, are fitted out as FREDA air-defence ships to replace theCassard class.[26] DCNS has shown a FREMM-ER concept to meet this requirement, emphasisingballistic missile defence with the Thales Sea Fire 500 AESA radar.[27] Industrial considerations mean that the funds for FREMMs 9-11 are now being spent on five more exportableFrégate de Défense et d'Intervention (FDI, "intermediate size frigates") from 2024 to supplement, and ultimately replace, theLa Fayette class, three of which are being upgraded with new sonars to operate into the early 2030s.[28] With respect to support ships, theDurance class are being replaced under the FLOTLOG project by up to four derivatives of Italy'sVulcano-class logistic support ship, with three being delivered from 2023 to 2027.[29] A fourth potential ship is delayed until after 2030.[30]
Construction has started on the first of sixBarracuda-class nuclear attack submarines; commissioning ofSuffren took place in 2020. These nuclear attack submarines are to be followed in the 2030s by the incremental introduction of anew class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) whose construction began in 2024.
The first MM40Exocet Block 3 missile was test-fired in 2010 to be produced. Naval versions of theSCALP EG land-attack cruise missile are under development, along with a plannedAster Block 1NT with greater capabilities against ballistic missiles.
In October 2018, the French Ministry of Defence launched an 18-month study for €40 million for the eventual future replacement of the aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle beyond 2030. A decision to build the new carrier was taken by PresidentEmmanuel Macron in 2020[31] and once it enters service it is anticipated to remain in service until beyond 2080.[32][33] Construction of the new carrier is to begin in around 2025 with service entry anticipated in the latter 2030s.
...the United States and the United Kingdom have the world's two best world-spanning blue-water navies... with the French being the only other candidate... and China being the most likely competitor in the long term
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