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The French Navy (French: Marine nationale, lit. 'National Navy'), informally La Royale, is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in the world recognised as being a blue-water navy.[4][5][6] The French Navy is capable of operating globally and conducting expeditionary missions, maintaining a significant overseas presence. The French Navy is one of eight naval forces currently operating fixed-wing aircraft carriers,[Note 1] with its flagship Charles de Gaulle being the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside the United States Navy, and one of two non-American vessels to use catapults 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 the French colonial empire for over 400 years. The French Navy pioneered several innovations in naval technology, including the first steam-powered ship of the line, first seagoing ironclad warship, first mechanically propelled submarine, first steel-hulled warship, and first armoured cruiser.
The French Navy consists of six main components: the Naval Action Force, the Submarine Forces (FOST and ESNA), French Naval Aviation, the Navy Riflemen (including Naval Commandos), the Marseille Naval Fire Battalion, and the Maritime 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, its reserve element numbered roughly 48,000.[10]
It operates a wide range of fighting vessels, including various aeronaval forces, attack and ballistic missile submarines, frigates, patrol boats and support ships, with aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle serving as the centerpiece of most expeditionary forces.
- ^ "Defence Key Figures: 2016 Edition". Ministère des Armėes. (download PDF file or see HTML version Archived 6 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ "Forces de surface". Ministère des Armėes. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ "World Air Forces 2019". Flightglobal: 16. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ Bratton, Patrick C; Till, Geoffrey (2012). Sea Power and the Asia-Pacific. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. ISBN 978-1136627248.
- ^ "The Royal Navy: Britain's Trident for a Global Agenda". henryjacksonsociety.org. Henry Jackson Society. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2006.
- ^ Bennett, James C (1 January 2007). The Anglosphere Challenge: Why the English-speaking Nations Will Lead the Way in the Twenty-first Century. United States: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 286. ISBN 978-0742533332.
...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
- ^ Suciu, Peter (2021-04-07). "France's Brand New Aircraft Carrier is On Its Way". The National Interest. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
- ^ Yeo, Mike (2022-06-17). "China Launches Third Carrier". DefenseNews. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ "Forces". Ministère des Armėes. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
- ^ "Key defence figures 2014" (PDF) (in French). Ministère des Armėes. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-13.
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