The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre (English: Land Army), is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces and its largest. As of 2008, the army employs 133,947 regular soldiers and 24 000+ civilians. All soldiers are now considered professionals, following the suspension of conscription in 1996.
During the professionalisation process, numbers dropped from the 1996 236,000 (132,000 conscripts) to around 140,000. By June 1999, the...
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The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre (English: Land Army), is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces and its largest. As of 2008, the army employs 133,947 regular soldiers and 24 000+ civilians. All soldiers are now considered professionals, following the suspension of conscription in 1996.
During the professionalisation process, numbers dropped from the 1996 236,000 (132,000 conscripts) to around 140,000. By June 1999, the Army's strength had dropped to 186,000, including around 70,000 conscripts. Thirty-eight of 129 regiments were planned to be stood down from 1997-99. The previous structure's nine 'small' divisions and sundry separate combat and combat support brigades were replaced by nine combat and four combat support brigades.
During the Cold War, the French Army, though not part of NATO's military command structure, actively planned for the defence of Western Europe. II Corps (France) was stationed in South Germany, and effectively formed a reserve for...
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