Germinal is a Floréal-class frigate of the French Navy. She is the sixth and last ship of her class, and the first French vessel named after Germinal, the seventh month of the Republican Calendar. The ship was constructed at Saint-Nazaire, France, in 1992–1993 and entered service in 1994. The frigate has served in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas and the Gulf of Guinea. Germinal is stationed in the Antilles (Fort-de-France) for patrol duties in the Caribbean Sea.

The Floréal class is a type of light "surveillance frigates" designed for the needs of the French Navy in low-threat environments ordered in 1989. The ships are named after months of the Republican Calendar. They use construction standards of commercial ships. The frigates were built between 1990 and 1993 by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire, France. The six French ships of the class, Floréal, Prairial, Nivôse, Ventôse, Vendémiaire and Germinal, remain in active service.