ABSTRACT: The French Army strategy to protect the people from terrorism and to remain involved in international stabilization efforts comes at a cost. This article identifies steps to balance the complexities through technology and force structure. Between 2010 and 2025, French Army equipment will have changed more than it did between 1970 and 2010. But, this shift is not limited to fielding materiel, the French Army is also undergoing a major reorganization--the Scorpion modernization program. Since the Ile-de-France attacks (January 7-9, 2015), the French Army's overarching challenge has been to balance its interventions abroad, reassurance missions, and homeland security operations. Although a relatively stable equilibrium has been found, the model raises new questions regarding its long-term sustainability. Choosing a priority between defending borders or projecting forces abroad has been a continuous struggle. Beginning with the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-99), France's strategic culture has been predominantly defined by defending its northeastern border, which requires a large land force. This tendency was reinforced at the end of the Algerian War (1954-62), when colonial troops returned to France. The proliferation of nuclear weapons in the early 1970s caused the French Army to join the West's deterrence mission; however, despite the assigned priority to defend the homeland against a Soviet invasion, a small projection force maintained an expeditionary culture. This Cold War model defined by levee en masse (massive conscription) was applied until 1996, when the suspension of the practice was announced. Since then, strategic priorities have been inverted. The French Army has turned toward its expeditionary force to create a more compact and better equipped army, one in which all units are capable of intervening abroad. (1) This trend extended through 2013 with financial pressure causing a drastic reduction of the number of units and personnel. (2) In 2015, budgetary and political constraints pushed the army chief of staff to redesign the service's structure. This willingness to reform also occurred in a disrupted and changing security environment, which as of March 2017, compelled engagement in three domains: 7,000-10,000 soldiers deployed in homeland operations responding to a high-level terrorist threat; 10,000 participated in operations abroad driven by a jihadist threat; and 300 supported North Atlantic Treaty Organization Reassurance missions to Eastern European and Baltic states. This article provides an overview of the French Army's navigation of these overlapping demands, and their influence on the service's structure, doctrine, and capabilities. Impacts of the renewed organization and equipment, the innovative tactical thinking, and the friction resulting from French forces' return from national and international commitments are also covered. "Au contact"--Transitioning within the Median On May 28, 2015, the French Army officially unveiled its new organization plan Au contact, meaning up close, which was drafted before the Ile-de-France attacks that emphasized the plan's necessity and relevance. Implementation, including dividing the army into 13 commands, began in September 2015 and will be finalized in 2017. Although Au contact focuses on overseas interventions, it also rebalances the army's participation and visibility in terms of protection, particularly across French territory. The National Territory Command, created over the summer of 2016, intends to prepare for and facilitate military engagement in the area in the case of disaster relief or homeland security missions. Key army capabilities--such as special forces, airmobile combat (including a new airmobile brigade), intelligence, information and communication systems, and logistics--have also been reinforced and consolidated into new dedicated commands. Most combat troops have been regrouped into a Scorpion force composed of 47,000 soldiers and orga

France, officially the French Republic, is a country primarily located in Western Europe. Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north, Germany to the northeast, Switzer Napoleon became First Consul in 1799 and later Emperor of the French Empire. Changing sets of European coalitions declared wars on Napoleon's empire. His armies conquered most of continental Europe with swift victories such as the Austerlitz and battles of Jena-Auerstadt. Members of the Bonaparte family were appointed monarchs in some of the newly established kingdoms. These victories led to the worldwide expansion of French revolutionary ideals and reforms, such as the metric system, Napoleonic Code and Declaration of the Rights of Man. In 1812 Napoleon attacked Russia, reaching Moscow. Thereafter his army disintegrated through supply problems, disease, Russian attacks, and finally winter. After this catastrophic campaign and the ensuing uprising of European monarchies against his rule, Napoleon was defeated. About a million Frenchmen died during the Napoleonic Wars, including 306,000 killed. After his brief return from exile, Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, and the Bourbon monarchy was restored with new constitutional limitations. The railway network in France stretches 29,473 kilometres (18,314 mi) as of 2008 and is the second most extensive in Western Europe after Germany's. It is operated by the SNCF, and high-speed trains include Thalys, Eurostar and TGV, which travels at 320 km/h (199 mph). Eurostar and LeShuttle connect with the United Kingdom through the Channel Tunnel. Rail connections exist to all other neighbouring countries in Europe except Andorra. Intra-urban connections are also well developed, with most major cities having underground or tramway services complementing bus services. There are approximately 1,027,183 kilometres (638,262 mi) of serviceable roadway, ranking it the most extensive network of the European continent. The Paris Region is enveloped with a dense network of roads and highways, which connect it with virtually all parts of the country. Roads also handle substantial international traffic, connecting with cities in neighbouring countries. There is no annual registration fee or road tax; usage of the mostly privately owned motorways is through tolls except in the vicinity of large communes. The…

Summary The French Revolutionary Wars have been described as the first total war in human history, greatly increasing the scale and intensity of war as well as its impact on society. Following the August 23, 1793 levée en masse, the French waged war based on the ideal of a nation in arms. Attempting to fully mobilize the population and resources of France for war demanded that the French fight a short, decisive conflict—one that would see a quick Republican triumph over Coalition armies and internal counterrevolutionary forces before the demands of total war exhausted the nation. Though a variety of motivations and political factions influenced France’s path to total, or near-total, war, no one proved more consequential than Lazare Carnot, who is remembered in French national tradition as “The Organizer of Victory.” Carnot ensured that mass mobilization and revolutionary enthusiasm served a coherent strategic vision. As a member of the Committee of Public Safety in 1793–1794, he implemented an effective military policy that brought victory to the French armies, though it fell short of the total victory desired by the Revolutionary government. The French Revolutionary Wars continued and eventually transitioned into the Napoleonic Wars that dominated the European continent and much of the globe until 1815.