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Further Reading

France - Military Personnel

Civilian and military defence personnel in 2004
Army	166 892
Air force	69 276
Navy	54 656
Gendarmerie	100 345
Joint services	64 008
Total	455 177

French history texts of the next century will record 22 February 1996 as the beginning of fundamental changes in the nation's armed forces. On that date Jacques Chirac, President of the Republic and Chief of the Armed Forces, announced his intent to end France's tradition of conscription, and to reshape by 2002 the armed forces around volunteers. Additionally, M. Chirac decided to reduce the size of French military forces by 30 percent from current levels. His goal was to have the new structure settled, equipment fielded, and France's defense industrial base restructured by 2015.

Like other Western countries in the aftermath of the Cold War, France has undertaken a major restructuring of its armed forces to develop a professional military that is smaller, more rapidly deployable, and better tailored for operations distant from France. Key elements of the restructuring included phasing out conscripts in favor of an all-volunteer, technologically more intensive military force. The professionalisation of the armed forces and the end of armed forces combining career military personnel and conscripts announced in 1996 came into effect on 31 December 2002. Compulsory national service lasting one year for 18-year-old men has been abolished and replaced by a compulsory day of defence preparation for all young men and women aged between 16 and 18 years.

Despite the end of conscription, young people - both males and females - must still register for possible conscription. The age for voluntary military service is 17 years of age with parental consent or age 18. In 2005 males in the age cohort of 17 to 49 numbered 13,676,509, and those judged fit for military service numbered 11,262,661. Males who reached military age during 2005 numbered 389,204.

	1995	2002
Army	271,000	170,000
Navy	70,400	56,500
Air Force	94,100	70,000
National Military Police	93,450	97,900
Joint Services	47,910	39,600
Total	577,360	434,000*
*excludes 100,000 reservists

In moving to a professional force, the French military was downsized by one-third between 1996 and 2002. By 2005 a total of 428,000 people worked for the French Ministry of Defense. This number included 81,000 civilians and 347,000 military professionals in four main branches. The army comprised 39 percent (134,000 active military); the navy, 12 percent (43,000 active military); the air force, 17 percent (61,000 active military); and the Gendarmerie Nationale (a branch of the national police under military statute), 22 percent (about 100,000). The joint services and strategic nuclear forces made up another 10 percent. The reserves number about 100,000. The Act for 2003-2008 set troop numbers at 446,563 in 2008.

The gendarmerie, 101,399 strong, including 7,250 women, is the only part of the military that has recently increased in size. From 1990 to 2004, France's regular military forces lost nearly 43 percent of personnel, while the gendarmerie gained more than 13 percent. Increasing the relative weight of the gendarmerie in the overall array of the uniformed armed forces reflects the growing priority that the government places on the nation's internal security and, in particular, on combating terrorism.