Military
The French Armed Forces (Forces armées françaises) are the military and paramilitary forces of France, under the President of the Republic as supreme commander. They consist of the French Army (Armée de Terre), the French Navy (Marine Nationale, formerly called Armée de Mer), the French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace), and the National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale), which serves as both military police and civil police in rural areas. Together they are among the largest armed forces in the world and the largest in the EU. According to a 2015 study by Crédit Suisse, the French Armed Forces ranked as the world's sixth-most powerful military, and the second most powerful in Europe.[147] France's annual military expenditure in 2023 was US$61.3 billion, or 2.1% of its GDP, making it the eighth biggest military spender in the world.[148] There has been no national conscription since 1997.[149]
France has been a recognised nuclear state since 1960. It is a party to both the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)[150] and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The French nuclear force (formerly known as "Force de Frappe") consists of four Triomphant class submarines equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles. In addition to the submarine fleet, it is estimated that France has about 60 ASMP medium-range air-to-ground missiles with nuclear warheads;[151] 50 are deployed by the Air and Space Force using the Mirage 2000N long-range nuclear strike aircraft, while around 10 are deployed by the French Navy's Super Étendard Modernisé (SEM) attack aircraft, which operate from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91).
France has major military industries and one of the largest aerospace sectors in the world.[152] The country has produced such equipment as the Rafale fighter, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, the Exocet missile and the Leclerc tank among others. France is a major arms seller,[153][154] with most of its arsenal's designs available for the export market, except for nuclear-powered devices.
One French intelligence unit, the Directorate-General for External Security, is considered to be a component of the Armed Forces under the authority of the Ministry of Defence. The other, the Directorate-General for Internal Security operates under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior.[155] France's cybersecurity capabilities are regularly ranked as some of the most robust of any nation in the world.[156][157]
French weapons exported totaled 27 billion euros in 2022, up from 11.7 billion euros the previous year 2021. Additionally, the UAE alone contributed more than 16 billion euros arms to the French total.[158] Among the largest French defence companies are Dassault, Thales and Safran.[159]