French Armed forces

France
Population
68,042,591
Military budget
54 billion $
Active personnel
208,750
Nuclear weapons
300 warheads
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Basic informations

Capital: Paris
Area: 640,679 km2
Population: 68,042,591
Etnic groups: White 85%, North African 10%, Black 3.3%, Asian 1.7%
Religions: Christian 63-66%, Muslim 7-9%, Jewish .5-.75%, Buddhist .5-.75%, other .5-1.0%, none 23-28%

Military branches

(Forces armées françaises) Army (Armee de Terre; includes Marines, Foreign Legion, Army Light Aviation), Navy (Marine Nationale), Air Force (Armee de l'Air (AdlA); includes Air Defense).

Military service

18-25 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription; 1-year service obligation; women serve in noncombat post.

Military expenditures

Military budget
54 billion $
Percent of GDP
1.7

Manpower

Active personnel
208,750
Reserve
141,050
Available
14,563,662

Land Forces

Tanks
406
AFV
6,463
Artillery
134
Self-propelled guns
109
Rocket artillery
13
Armoured fighting vehicles includes infantry fighting vehicles, tank destroyers, armoured personnel carriers, mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles(MRAP), amphibious and reconnaissance vehicles.
Total artillery includes towed, self-propelled gun(SPG) and rocket artillery.

Tanks

TypeNameNumber

AFVs

TypeNameNumber
- PVP 1149
- VBL 1390
- EBRC Jaguar 20
- VBMR Griffon 250
- VHM 88

Self-propelled artillery

TypeNameNumber
- AMX 30 AuF1 32

Rocket artillery

TypeNameNumber

Air Forces

Total aircraft
1,253
Fighters
56
Multirole
146
Attack
86
Helicopters
540
UCAV (combat drone)
12
Total aircraft - number of all military aircraft and helicopters in country. Includes training and cargo aircraft. Does not include drones.
Attack includes ground-attack and strategic bomber aircraft.

Fighter aircraft

TypeNameNumber

Multirole aircraft

Attack and bomber aircraft

TypeNameNumber
- Dassault Mirage 2000D 86

Helicopters

TypeNameNumber
- Aérospatiale Puma 76
- Aérospatiale Gazelle 86
- Eurocopter Calliope 36
- Eurocopter Fennec 128
- Eurocopter SA365 Dauphin 15

UCAV (combat drone)

TypeNameNumber

Navy

Total naval
111
Aircraftcarriers
4
Destroyers
11
Frigates
11
Corvettes
0
Submarines
10
Total naval - number of all military ships in country. Includes auxiliaries.
Aircraft carriers includes helicopter carriers. Destroyers includes Battlecruisers and Cruisers.

Aircraftcarriers

Destroyers

TypeNameNumber
- Aquitaine class 7
- Cassard class 1

Frigates

TypeNameNumber
- Floréal class 6

Corvettes

TypeNameNumber
- -

Submarines

TypeNameNumber
- Triomphant class 4
- Rubis class 5
- Barracuda class 1

Nuclear weapons

France managed to research and develop its own nuclear weapon in 1960. The test, known as, Gerboise Bleue, was the result of mostly French research. One of the main figures that played crucial role in the entire process of developing the bomb was General Pierre Marie Gallois. He was concerned that the Suez Crisis, which started in 1956, would show the world how insignificant France became, since out of all Great Powers in the world, they were the only one without possessing its own nuclear arsenal. The tests were conducted on the terrains of Sahara Desert.

At this moment France owns 300 nuclear warheads, out of which almost all are deployed. What is more, compared to Great Britain, they made more tests, approximately 210. Noteworthy is the fact that the development of the first nuclear bomb in France as well as its tests were a bit controversial. It was due to the fact that France allowed Israeli observers to attend the tests, providing them with almost unrestricted access to all the data. It was quite important, since Israel, together with United Kingdom and France, were trying to invade Egypt.