Ministry of Armed Forces (France)
The Ministry of Armed Forces is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of managing the French Armed Forces inside and outside French soil. Its head is the Minister of the Armed Forces. From 1947 until 2017, the Ministry was designated the Ministry of Defence. It is France's ministry of defence.
Ministry of Armed Forces (France)
Hexagone Balard, the headquarters of the French Armed Forces
The French Armed Forces are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' military reserve force. As stipulated by France's constitution, the president of France serves as commander-in-chief of the French military. France has the eighth largest defence budget in the world and the second largest in the European Union (EU). It also has the largest military by size in the EU. A 2015 Credit Suisse report ranked the French Armed Forces as the world's sixth most powerful military.
Free French Legionnaires at the Battle of Bir Hakeim (1942)
A Dassault Rafale refuels from a USAF KC-10 Extender
Hexagone Balard, the headquarters of the French Armed Forces
A Leclerc tank during manoeuvres