Operation Serval was a French military operation in Mali. The aim of the operation was to oust Islamic militants from the north of Mali, who had begun a push into the center of Mali.
Operation Serval
The Mistral-class Dixmude, an amphibious assault ship and helicopter carrier of the French Navy.
C-17 transport aircraft from the United States and Canada at Istres-Le Tubé Air Base preparing to load French forces, 21 January 2013.
French troops prepare for take-off inside a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft in Istres, France.
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
