Military of France

Manpower

The total number of military personnel is approximately 300,000. However, 100,000 of these are in the Gendarmerie, and thus a vast majority of these 100,000 are used in everyday law enforcement operation inside France and are not fit for external operations.

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Previously, France relied a great deal on conscription to provide manpower to its armies, with only a minority of career soldiers. Following from the Algerian War of Independence, the use of non-volunteer draftees in foreign operations was ended. In 1996, President Jacques Chirac's government announced the end of conscription; in 2001, conscription was ended. However, young people must still register for possible conscription should the events call for it, with the change that now females must register as well.

Related Topics:
Conscription - Algerian War of Independence - 1996 - Jacques Chirac - 2001

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