French Navy

French Navy Marine National
Jack of the French Navy
Lineup	1269/1270 or 1626/1662
Country	France
Armed forces	French armed forces
Type	Armed forces
structure	Naval Force (Force d'Action Navale) Submarine fleet (Forces Sous-marines) Naval aviation ( Aéronautique navale ) Marine infantry (Force maritime des fusiliers marins et commandos) Coastguard (Gendarmerie maritime)
Strength	37,784 (2019)
motto	"Honneur, Patrie, Valeur, Discipline" (Eng. "Honor, Fatherland, Bravery, Discipline")
march	Hymn de la Marine
management
Chief of Staff of the Navy	admiral Christophe Prazuck
insignia
Airplane cockade of naval aviators

The French Navy ( French : Marine nationale française ) is the Navy of the French armed forces ( Forces armées françaises ). It is the second largest Western European Navy after the British Royal Navy . Her motto is: “ Honor , Patrie, Valeur, Discipline” (Eng. “Honor, Fatherland, Bravery, Discipline”).

history

→ Main article : History of the French Navy

The French Navy, which emerged during the late medieval crusades in the 13th century, was the second strongest navy in the world after the British Royal Navy from the 17th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Despite repeated defeats and heavy losses, especially against the Royal Navy, the French Navy remained a first-rate naval power and the British always remained a largely equal rival. The French Navy repeatedly tried to compensate for the deficit to the Royal Navy in terms of number of ships and training drill through structural and technical innovations in shipbuilding.

organization

Since September 2011, Admiral Bernard Rogel has headed the French Navy as Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Staff of the Navy. The most important bases are Brest on the Atlantic and Toulon on the Mediterranean . The Navy is organized into five areas:

• Naval Surface Forces (Force d'Action Navale)
• Submarine fleet (Forces Sous-marines)
• Naval Aviation (Aéronautique navale)
• Marine infantry (Fusiliers marins) and Marine Command - special forces (Commandos de Marine) consisting of
  • Combat swimmers ( Commando Hubert ),
  • Enlightenment (Commando de Penfentenyo),
  • Attack at sea and in coastal areas (Commando Jaubert),
  • Attack at sea (Commando Trépel),
  • Sniping and heavy weapons (Commando de Montfort)
  • C3I and military service dogs (Commando Kieffer )
• Coast Guard (Gendarmerie maritime)

fleet

Aircraft carrier

Ship class	origin	photo	Ships	Remarks
Charles de Gaulle	France		Charles de Gaulle (R91)	Nuclear powered

Destroyers and Frigates

Ship class	origin	photo	Ships	Remarks
Horizon	France		Forbin (D620) Chevalier Paul (D621)	Anti-aircraft destroyer
FOREIGN	France		Aquitaine (D650) Provence (D652) Languedoc (D653) Auvergne (D654) Brittany (D655) Normandy (D651) + Alsace (D656) Lorraine (D657)	Anti-submarine destroyer + 2 anti-aircraft destroyers
Cassard	France		Jean Bart (D615)	Anti-aircraft destroyer / frigate
Georges-Leygues	France		Lamotte-Picquet (D645) Latouche-Treville (D646)	Anti-submarine destroyer / frigate
La-Fayette	France		La Fayette (F710) Surcouf (F711) Courbet (F712) Aconit (F713) Guépratte (F714)	Light frigate Will be replaced by 5 Amiral Ronarc'h class frigates + 3 frigates will be kept
Floréal	France		Floréal (F730) Prairial (F731) Nivôse (F732) Ventôse (F733) Vendémiaire (F734) Germinal (F735)	Patrol frigate

Nuclear submarines

Ship class	origin	photo	Ships	Remarks
Triomphant	France		Le Triomphant (S616) Le Téméraire (S617) Le Vigilant (S618) Le Terrible (S619)	Nuclear powered strategic submarine
Rubis	France		Rubis (S601) Casabianca (S602) Émeraude (S604) Améthyste (S605) Pearl (S606)	Nuclear powered hunting submarine Will be replaced by Suffren class (submarine)

Amphibious units

Ship class	origin	photo	Ships	Remarks
mistral	France		Mistral (L9013) Tonnerre (L9014) Dixmude (L9015)	Helicopter carrier
EDA-R	France		4 units	Landing craft

Anti-mine units

Ship class	origin	photo	Ships	Remarks
Éridan	France		Éridan (M641) Cassiopée (M642) Andromède (M643) Pégase (M644) Orion (M645) Croix du Sud (M646) Aigle (M647) Lyre (M648) Sagittaire (M650) Céphée (M652) Capricorne (M653)	Minesweeper
Vulcain	France		Vulcain (M611) Achéron (A613) Styx (M614) Pluton (M622)	Mine diving boat
Antares	France		Antarès (M770) Altaïr (M771) Aldébaran (M772)

Patrol ships

Ship class	origin	photo	Ships	Remarks
	France		L'Astrolabe (P800)	Supply and patrol ship for the French Southern and Antarctic Territories , operated by the French Navy.
D'Entrecasteaux	France		D'Entrecasteaux (A621) Bougainville (A622) Champlain (A623) Dumont d'Urville (A624)

More ships

Sea tug A635 Revi

• 7 Avisos D'Estienne d'Orves class
• 5 patrol boats
• 3 supply ships
• NSRS submarine rescue system
• 3 patrol boats (La Confiance class) for overseas Caribbean territories

as well as other smaller units

Armaments projects

• 3 Aquitaine-class frigates are under construction or planned.
• 5 Amiral Ronarc'h class frigates are under construction or planned.
• 6 Suffren class nuclear-powered submarines are under construction or planned.
• 4 supply ships of the Vulcano class are planned.

See also

• List of naval forces
• French Navy ranks
• French Naval School

Web links

Commons : French Navy  - Collection of Images

• Website of the Marine nationale française (English / French)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Richard Scott: First steel cut for French FDI frigate programs. In: Jane's Information Group . October 29, 2019, accessed November 8, 2019 .