Security

Armed Forces Overview

Possessing an independent nuclear deterrent capability since the early 1960s, France is perhaps second only to the United Kingdom (UK) as West Europe’s most powerful military force. France is also one of only three European countries, including the UK and Greece, that spend more that 2 percent of gross domestic product on the military. Like other Western countries in the aftermath of the Cold War, France has undertaken a major restructuring of its armed forces to develop a professional military that is smaller, more rapidly deployable, and better tailored for operations distant from France. Key elements of the restructuring included phasing out conscripts by 2002 in favor of an all-volunteer, technologically more intensive military force. In moving to a professional force, the French military was downsized by one-third between 1996 and 2002. A total of 428,000 people work for the French Ministry of Defense (2005). This number includes 81,000 civilians and 347,000 military professionals in four main branches. The army comprises 39 percent (134,000 active military); the navy, 12 percent (43,000 active military); the air force, 17 percent (61,000 active military); and the Gendarmerie Nationale (a branch of the national police under military statute), 22 percent (about 100,000). The joint services and strategic nuclear forces make up another 10 percent. The reserves number about 100,000.

As France scales back and modernizes its force, it remains a key member of the Western system of alliances and institutions, and one of the largest contributors to the military capabilities of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. France also remains the strongest advocate of a credible, independent European defense capability.

Despite its reduced size, the French military has participated in numerous United Nations– mandated peacekeeping operations, most notably, in former Yugoslavia, as well as in humanitarian relief operations in, for example, Darfur and tsunami-ravished parts of Asia. It also maintains garrisons and naval bases around the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

Foreign Military Relations

In 1949 France was a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a regional defense alliance led by the trans-Atlantic partners. France has relied on NATO ever since, while also insisting on a degree of independence in military affairs. In 1966 France, wanting sole control of its nuclear weapons, withdrew its forces from NATO’s integrated military command structure, while remaining a member of NATO’s political councils. In 1995 France rejoined the military structure and has since worked actively to adapt NATO⎯internally and externally⎯to the post-Cold War environment. France is one of the major contributors to the NATO Reaction Force and, with about 4,000 troops, is the second largest member-state contributor to NATO operations, on a par with Italy and after Germany.

Two French generals recently took command of the two major NATO forces, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and Kosovo Forces (KFOR). France’s involvement with NATO has not prevented French leaders from formulating plans to create an exclusively European integrated military force as a security supplement to relieve NATO from participating in some regional crises. France and the European Union (EU) in general do not currently have the capabilities necessary to create forces independent of NATO.

However, France firmly backs strengthening the security arm of the EU and is a strong advocate of the 60,000-strong Rapid Reaction Force (RRF), to which France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK) are to be the major contributors. France also supports the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and other efforts at cooperation. In order to advance the creation of a European defense identity, France seeks to enhance the coordination of the French defense industry within a European framework and to give a more European dimension to nuclear deterrence, still the cornerstone of French defense strategy. Working with other European countries, most notably Germany and the UK, France has long supported naval cooperation and agreed in 2004 to set up joint battle groups. Outside of NATO and Europe, France has numerous military agreements with former colonies, especially nations in Africa.

External Threat

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the creation and expansion of the European Union, France has little reason to expect any state-led form of military aggression against its mainland. France’s main foreign intelligence service is the General Directorate for External Security (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure—DGSE).

Defense Budget

Among the larger European economies, France and the United Kingdom are the only significant spenders on defense. The two together account for 40 percent of European Union (EU) defense spending. Each spends well over 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), while most other EU countries spend less than 1.5 percent of GDP. In fiscal year 2007,

France’s defense budget is expected to reach US$45 billion, a modest dollar increase from 2006 that will represent 2.6 percent of GDP. A declining share of France’s defense budget⎯now less than 10 percent⎯goes toward its nuclear force. For comparision with France’s military expenditiures, the U.S. defense budget in 2007 will reach about 3.2 percent of GDP and dollar figures that dwarf the spending of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) partners.

Major Military Units

As of 2006, France’s army had 14 brigades, including two armored, two mechanized infantry, and two light armored, and one each of artillery, mountain infantry, airborne, air mobile, engineering, signal, international/electronic warfare, and French/German brigades. The army also includes regiments of the Foreign Legion, Marines, and Special Operations Forces. The navy, organized into commands, has the nuclear command, five territorial commands, and six organic commands for different kinds of ships. The navy also includes ground security and aviation units. The air force is divided into four commands: air signals and ground environment, air combat, air mobility, and air training.

Major Military Equipment

In 2006 the army had 926 main battle tanks; 1,809 reconnaissance vehicles; 601 armored infantry fighting vehicles; 4,413 armored personnel carriers; 787 artillery pieces; 1,195 antitank guided weapons; 455 air defense guns; 393 helicopters; and 68 unmanned aerial vehicles. The navy had six tactical and four nuclear submarines, one aircraft carrier (the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle), one helicopter carrier, 13 destroyers, 20 frigates, 36 patrol and coastal vessels, 21 mine warfare vessels, 10 amphibious vessels, and 23 support vessels. The navy also had 84 combat aircraft, including 30 armed helicopters. The air force had 478 combat aircraft, including 340 Mirage fighter aircraft; 28 helicopters; and four unmanned aerial vehicles.

France remains committed to the maintenance and continuous modernization of a relatively strong nuclear deterrent capability. In its strategic nuclear forces, France currently has roughly 350 nuclear warheads in two nuclear weapons systems, air-based and sea-based. The third, landbased system was removed from service after the Cold War-era threat from the Eastern Bloc dissolved. In the sea-based system, there are four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) equipped with 64 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with six warheads each. The air-based system consists of 60 Mirage 2000N and 28 Super Étendard aircraft equipped with a total of 60–90 medium-range air-to-surface missiles with single warheads.

France intends eventually to replace all of its Mirage aircraft with the Rafale, its new multipurpose fighter-bomber, whose roles will include the delivery of both conventional and nuclear weapons. The Rafale program calls for 234 aircraft for the air force and 60 for the navy.

Military Service

Conscription, a feature of French life for more than a century, was phased out and finally ended in 2002, when France completed its move to all-professional armed forces. Despite the end of conscription, young people⎯both males and females⎯must still register for possible conscription. The age for voluntary military service is 17 years of age with parental consent or age 18. In 2005 males in the age cohort of 17 to 49 numbered 13,676,509, and those judged fit for military service numbered 11,262,661. Males who reached military age during 2005 numbered 389,204.

Paramilitary Forces

In addition to the regular armed forces, France maintains its paramilitary Gendarmerie Nationale, one of the police system’s two branches. The gendarmerie is an integrated part of the national military organization and supported by the defense budget. The gendarmerie exercises police authority in rural and small urban areas, while the non-military branch of the police, the National Police, has jurisdiction over urban areas with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The gendarmerie, 101,399 strong, including 7,250 women, is the only part of the military that has recently increased in size. From 1990 to 2004, France’s regular military forces lost nearly 43 percent of personnel, while the gendarmerie gained more than 13 percent. Increasing the relative weight of the gendarmerie in the overall array of the uniformed armed forces reflects the growing priority that the government places on the nation’s internal security and, in particular, on combating terrorism. The paramilitary gendarmerie is the organization in France ultimately responsible for homeland security. Much of the increase in the military budget of 2003–8, an increase slated to reinforce the French military’s capacity to fight terrorism, was devoted to bolstering the gendarmerie. The extra funds for the gendarmerie will be applied to renewing the vehicle fleet⎯with the replacement of 122 VBRGs (gendarmerie wheeled armored vehicles)⎯and additional surveillance, intervention, and rescue helicopters, as well as improved computer systems.

Military Forces Abroad

France has traditionally had a large military presence abroad. Currently, about 34,000 troops are assigned outside of metropolitan France. Somewhat more than half of these troops are deployed to meet prepositioning requirements, maintaining garrisons and naval bases around the world, notably in sub-Saharan Africa. France maintains permanent military bases in Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, and Senegal. The remaining 13,000 to 16,000 troops deployed overseas take part⎯often in leading roles⎯in peacekeeping/coalition operations under international or defense agreements. As one of five permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, France is a frequent volunteer for peacekeeping operations. French troops participate as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or of coalitions in stabilization efforts mandated by UN resolutions, or, on occasion, operate under the Eurocorps flag. Such actions are currently taking place in Africa, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and the Middle East, with some addressing humanitarian crises, such as in Darfur.

To address crises, France deployed military forces to Côte d’Ivoire in 2002, to the Central African Republic in 2003, and, with European Union (EU) partners, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2003. In 2004 it deployed military forces to monitor the Chad–Sudan border.

The French have been among the strongest supporters of NATO and EU policy in the Balkans. France is the largest contributor of troops in Kosovo, with 2,380 troops, or almost 14 percent of Kosovo Forces (KFOR). France has been the second largest partner of the United States in Afghanistan after Germany. French contributions include its Charles de Gaulle carrier battle group and 1,800 troops.

Despite foreign policy disagreements over Iraq, France and the United States remain strong partners in advancing security throughout the world. For example, 10,000 French forces in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific monitor sea-lanes. In another example, 7,000 French troops in the Caribbean area and French Guiana work closely with the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South to counter drug trafficking. France is also a full partner in the U.S.-initiated Proliferation Security Initiative and offers numerous training exercises.

Police

France is one of the most policed states in the world, with approximately 394 public personnel per 100,000 inhabitants. The French system of policing, like many others in Europe, differs significantly from that of the United States, which features city police departments. The French police are a national force led by chiefs in Paris. In the provinces, police forces answer not to mayors but to the regional administrators known as prefects. The policing system is composed of two separate organizations, the civilian National Police and the military gendarmerie, as well as one further component, the Directorate of Territorial Security (Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire—DST). The minister of interior controls the National Police and the DST and exercises operational control over the gendarmerie.

The National Police, with its 180,000 employees, operates mostly in large cities and towns as a general-purpose police force. It conducts security operations, such as patrols and traffic control, and, under the supervision of the judiciary, its “judiciary police” carries out criminal inquiries. The gendarmerie, when operating in civil contexts, conducts general policing in rural areas.

The intelligence arm of the police, the DST, which has no real U.S. equivalent, descended from the political police of Napoléonic times. Once engaged in spying on leftists and other suspect groups, it now conducts election analysis, monitors hooligans and casinos, and, most importantly, collects information on the interconnected threats of Islamist extremism and organized crime.

France’s anticrime law, passed in 2002, increases police numbers and expands police powers, lowering thresholds for stop-and-search and for recording personal information in law enforcement databases. The law, although billed as aimed against serious crime, such as terrorism and organized crime, construes the latter broadly enough to include petty offenses such as begging.

Internal Threat

France’s current concerns about domestic security ⎯a central theme of elections in 2002⎯focus mainly on common crime and antisocial behavior, organized crime, and terrorism, especially Islamist terrorism. Since late 2005, the prospect of urban unrest also has become a matter of concern. At that time, widespread rioting erupted in France’s city outskirts and reached a scale not seen in France since the student-worker riots of 1968. In the several weeks of rioting in 2005, the children of mainly North African immigrants burned some 10,000 cars and community centers and schools in 300 urban areas—areas where unemployment is rampant among young males. The property destruction was extensive and led to nearly 3,000 arrests and an official state of emergency lasting until January 2006. These riots aroused more consternation than the usual politically charged actions arising out of France’s tradition of wildcat strikes, street demonstrations, and mass mobilization. Many interpreted the 2005 riots as evidence of the failure of French policies on immigration and integration, particularly of Muslims. A few even saw the riots as fueled by religion and hostile teachings in mosques. Others dismissed any causal connection to religion, blaming the mayhem simply on small numbers of gang leaders competing in destruction and exploiting the social disaffection of other underclass youth. Whatever the interpretation, the riots ensured that law and order and immigration were major themes in the electoral campaigns of 2007, recalling the dominance of security concerns in the 2002 presidential election, when the far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen polled a startling 17 percent in the first round of voting. In 2007 Nicolas Sarkozy, a relative hard-liner on law and order and immigration, garnered votes previously given to Le Pen, whose vote total fell to 10 percent.

Another of France’s security concerns, crime, includes both ordinary crime and organized crime. The rate of common crime in France is about on a par with Europe’s generally low rates. However, the perception is widespread that crime is increasing, perhaps because, in urban areas, the level of reported crime involving guns is rising. A disproportionate share of common crime is committed by minority youths⎯Muslim and black⎯who make up half of the prison population.

Organized crime also continues to plague France’s Mediterranean coast, with hotspots in Nice and Marseille for drug trafficking, robbery, and prostitution. Criminal activities, especially by organized groups, in turn have linkages with another major security concern, terrorism. Criminal activities such as the trafficking of drugs, weapons, and women and various forms of financial crime are sources of funding for radical Islamist groups.

France’s response to its security concerns has involved significant recent reforms in both its immigration and integration policies and in its legal regime and law enforcement apparatus. France continues to tighten its requirements for entry, stay, and naturalization in the country, while at the same time stepping up affirmative action for the underprivileged section of its population. In 2004 France passed a bill that makes it possible to deport non-citizens for inciting “discrimination, hatred, or violence” against any group. This law has been used to deport radical Muslim clerics. The country has also increased the already strong powers of the police and prosecutors under the law and reinforced the capabilities and interoperability of its intelligence agencies and counterterrorism units.

Terrorism

France’s concern with countering terrorism is of long standing. Since 1980, terrorist acts have been perpetrated on French soil by three types of groups, French radical leftists, European regional separatists (i.e., Corsican and Basque nationalists), and internationally linked Muslim militants. The radical leftists, never as threatening as similar groups in Germany and Italy, ceased to pose a problem by the late 1980s. Separatist terrorism made its latest major showing in the 1998 assassination of the highest French government official in Corsica and continues in small-scale attacks on vacation homes there. At present, international terrorism, specifically Middle Eastern and Muslim fundamentalist terrorism, remains the chief concern.

Over the course of the 1980s, France became the European country most affected by such international terrorism, with a dozen bombings in 1986 by Palestinian groups demanding the release of political prisoners. Since the 1990s, the international terrorist threat has evolved into a religious extremist threat. France became the target of radical Islamist networks linked with Algeria’s internal conflict and the most notorious Algerian terror faction, the Armed Islamic Group (Groupe Islamique Armé—GIA), part of Osama Bin Laden’s Afghanistan-based network.

These Algerian Islamists attacked France for supporting the military-backed Algerian government, which abrogated the Islamists’ 1992 electoral victory in Algeria. Between 1993 and 1996, the GIA network assassinated 42 French expatriates (including Christian religious figures) in Algeria. In 1994 the GIA hijacked an Air France flight in Algiers with plans to crash it into the Eiffel Tower. In 1995 and 1996, the network detonated 10 bombs in public places.

In response to such threats, the French government has developed perhaps the strictest counterterrorism system in Europe, with antiterrorism laws that support preemptive arrests and an efficient intelligence apparatus that aggressively gathers and pools information on suspicious people and activities. Through this apparatus, France has played a central role in the world’s antiterrorism efforts since September 11, 2001.

France has three main services responsible for investigating terrorist threats, the Directorate of Territorial Security (Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire—DST), under the Interior Ministry; the Central Directorate of General Information (Direction Centrale des Renseignements Généraux—DCRG or RG); and the National Antiterrorist Division (Division Nationale Antiterroriste—DNAT). The DST, formed in 1944 to counter espionage and political threats, is now the central security agency charged with countering the interconnected threats of organized crime and Islamist terrorism. Since 1995, the DST has deployed extensive wiretaps and used various human intelligence-gathering methods⎯some controversial⎯to keep informed of threats. The DST and the other intelligence services have built a large network of perhaps 10,000 informants throughout Muslim communities in France and abroad. The informants may receive money and legal favors, such as immigration papers and reduced prison sentences, in exchange for information about, for example, hate speech in mosques. The intelligence services feed a massive database of suspects or “persons of interest,” whose movements, acquaintances, and trips abroad are monitored. In an effort to quantify the threat that France faces, the DCRG developed a formula, as follows: in a given Muslim population in Europe, an average of 5 percent are fundamentalists, and up to 3 percent of those fundamentalists should be considered dangerous. By that calculation, France’s Muslim population of 6 million includes 300,000 fundamentalists, 9,000 of whom are potentially dangerous.

Through the data collection and clandestine monitoring of its various intelligence services, France has uncovered and dismantled Islamist networks on its soil, such as several groups that recruited terrorists for Iraq. From 2000 to 2005, the DST has been credited with thwarting terrorist acts in various stages of planning, with the arrests of several hundred involved militants.

Thwarted plots included planned attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Paris, on French tourist sites on Réunion in the Indian Ocean, and on other targets. Following the 2005 bombings in London, French officials worked closely with their British counterparts. They have also regularly aided counterterrorism investigators in other countries, including the United States. France also plays an active role in the United Nations Security Council’s Counterterrorism Committee and the Group of Eight’s Counterterrorism Action Group.

Source: Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile