History of the French Navy

Although the history of the [French Navy]] goes back to the Middle Ages, when it was defeated by the English at the Battle of Sluys and, with Castilian help, managed to beat the English at La Rochelle, its history can be said to effectively begin with Richelieu under Louis XIII.

Since the establishment of her present territory, France had to face three major challenges on the naval level:

Two sea sides, which force to keep to naval forces and divide ressources between the Mediterannean and the Atlantic Ocean
Political and strategic interests on the East border and the continent, which creates a tendency to emphasise land forces
A tendency to neglectful administrations, unables to widstand the sustained efforts necessary to keep an effective navy. This created a series of brilliant eras followed by disasters.

Four great eras and be distinguished in the History of the French Navy

The creating of the first actual State Navy, under Louis XIII, thanks to the politics of Richelieu. This navy was largely ruined by the troubles of the Fronde.
A rebuilt and brilliant era under Louis XIV, largely thanks to Jean-Baptiste Colbert. The effort was not persued under the Régence of Philippe d'Orléans and the beginning of the reign of Louis XV; consequently, the Seven Years' War and the French and Indian War ended in distaster.
A period of rebirth under the impulsion of Choiseul, which culminated under Louis XVI with de Grasse's victory over the English during the American Revolutionary War. In the same period, explorers like Bougainville expanded French geography, naval maps, and founded outposts. The downfall occured during the French Revolution and the First Empire, leaving the English with a centruy of undisputed domination of the seas.
Under Napoléon III, a modern Navy was built, taking advantage of new technologies like steam and ship armour, which made older fleet effectively obsolete. These force was an important instrument in the constitution and keeping of the French Empire. The fleet maintained a high standard, and between the two world wars (1925-1939), a significant effort was made counter the threat of the German and Italian navies. With the Fall of France, however, most of the Navy never got a chance to fight, and what survived Mers-el-Kebir was eventually annihilated in the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon.

The French navy is affectionately known as the "Royale", for its supposed attachment to the monarchy.

Louis XIII and Richelieu

Louis XIV and Colbert

Under the tutelage of the "Sun King," the French Navy was well financed and equipped, managing to score several early victories in the Nine Years War against the Royal Navy and the Dutch Navy. Financial troubles, however, forced the navy back to port and allowed the English and the Dutch to regain the initiative.

Under the impulsion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert's ambitious policy of ship building, the French navy began to gain a magnificience matching the symbolism of the Louis XIV era, as well as an actual military significance. The Soleil-Royal is illustrative of the trend of the time. Colbert is credited with forging a good part of the naval tradition of France.

Before the Nine Years War, in the Franco-Dutch War, the French navy managed to score a decisive victory over a combined Spanish-Dutch fleet at the Battle of Palermo (1676).

During the War of the Grand Alliance, Admiral Tourville won a decisive victory in the Battle of Beachy Head (1690, Bataille de Bévezier); the event is regarded as one of the most glorious deed of the French Navy, and Tourville earned a fame which lasts to present times (a number of ships were named Bévezier or Tourville to commemorate the battle).

The Battle of Barfleur saw a largely under-numbered French fleet attack and defeat the combined English and Dutch fleets, obtaining a noticeable tactical victory. However, the event ended in a strategic disaster, as some of the damaged French ships were forced to beach themselves at Cherbourg, where they were annihilated by English long boats and with fire ships. The loss effectively put French ambitions to challenge the English navy to a halt for decades.

Louis XVI

A perennial problem for the French Navy was France's strategic priorities, which were first and foremost tied to its European ambitions. This meant the army was often treated better than the navy, and as a result, the latter suffered in training and operational performance. The eighteenth century saw the beginning of Royal Navy domination, which managed to inflict a number of significant defeats on the French. However, in a very impressive effort, the French under de Grasse managed to defeat an English fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781, thus ensuring that the Franco-American ground forces would win the ongoing Battle of Yorktown. Beyond that, and Suffren's impressive campaigns against the British in India, there was not much more good news.

French Revolution and the First Empire

The French Revolution all but crippled the French Navy, and efforts to make it into a powerful force under Napoleon were dashed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, where the British all but annihilated a combined Franco-Spanish fleet. The disaster guaranteed British naval domination until World War II.

Restauration and Second Empire

Later in the nineteenth century, the navy recovered and became the second finest in the world after the Royal Navy. It conducted a successful blockade of Mexico in the Pastry War of 1838 and obliterated the Chinese navy at the Battle of Foochow in 1884. It also served as an effective link between the growing parts of the French empire.

World Wars

The navy performed well in World War I, but the defeat of France in World War II forced the British to destroy a part of it at Mers-el-Kebir in order to prevent its fall to the Germans. From this point on, the ships remaining in Vichyst hands spent the war trying to observe neutrality towards the Axis powers, while avoiding destructions or catpure by the Allies and the Free French. They were eventually annihilated in the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon.

The Free French Forces managed to obtain a number of ships which were in Allied ports (notably the submarine Surcouf), while they obtained leased ships from the British (like the corvette Aconit) ; when French Africa joined the Allies, important ships based in Dakar were obtained (the cruisers Suffren, Gloire, Montcalm, Georges Leygues, and the battleship Richelieu). These units played their parts in the Battle of Normandy and in the war in the Pacific. The Richelieu was present in Tokyo Bay during the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.

Modern navy

See The French Navy in the 21st Century

Currently, French naval doctrine calls for two aircraft carriers, but the French only have one, the Charles de Gaulle, due to restructuring.

The navy is in the midst of major technological and procurement changes: a second aircraft carrier has been ordered on top of the Rafales (the naval version) replacing older aircraft.

Newer strategic submarines of the SNLE-NG type have mostly replaced the elder SNLE, and a new nuclear ballistic missile is under test, due for 2008. The experience acquired with the building of the SNLE-NG will also lead to a newer type of nuclear attack submarines, which are expected for 2010.

Surface forces are upgrading in numbers and modernity, with four large destroyers and 17 frigates planned. More modern missiles are being issued, notably adding cruise missile capabilities.