Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral.
The French Navy, informally La Royale, is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in the world, ranking seventh in combined fleet tonnage and fifth in number of naval vessels. The French Navy is one of eight naval forces currently operating fixed-wing aircraft carriers, with its flagship Charles de Gaulle being the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside the United States Navy, and one of two non-American vessels to use catapults to launch aircraft.
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the regimental colours, the rank acquired the name. This rank has generally been replaced in army ranks by second lieutenant. Ensigns were generally the lowest-ranking commissioned officer, except where the rank of subaltern existed. In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, لواء, liwa', derives from the command of units with an ensign, not the carrier of such a unit's ensign, and is today the equivalent of a major general.
An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to Field marshal and Marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral.
A maritime prefect is a servant of the French government who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region known as a maritime prefecture. As of 2024, there are three maritime prefects in metropolitan France, based in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Brest and Toulon.
Rank insignia in the French Army are worn on the sleeve or on shoulder marks of uniforms, and range up to the highest rank of Marshal of France, a state honour denoted with a seven-star insignia that was last conferred posthumously on Marie Pierre Koenig in 1984.
Général is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers, which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank, which are high-level officers in the other uniformed services.
Counter-admiral Gabriel Paul Auphan was a French naval officer who became the State Secretary of the Navy of the Vichy government from April to November 1942.
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain.
Chef d'escadre was a rank in the French Navy during the Ancien Régime and until the French Revolution. The rank was changed to contre-amiral by a law passed on 15 May 1791.
Patriote was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was one of the French ships which had their hull doubled with copper.
Pierre-François Forissier is a notable French Admiral Submariner and former Chief of Staff of the French Navy, a post which he took up, on February 4, 2008 and left on September 12, 2011.
Antoine Jean Marie Thévenard was a French politician and vice admiral. He served in the French ruling regimes of Louis XVI, those of the Revolution, Napoleon I and Louis XVIII, and is buried at the Panthéon de Paris. His son Antoine-René Thévenard, capitaine de vaisseau, was killed at the Battle of Aboukir whilst commanding the 74-gun Aquilon.
Sylphe was an Abeille-class 16-gun brig-corvette of the French Navy. The class was built to a design by François Pestel. The British captured her in 1807 and took her into the Royal Navy as HMS Seagull, but apparently never used her in any capacity. She was sold in 1814.
Amiral Édouard Guillaud is a retired French Naval Officer and Admiral. He devoted a significant part of his career to the design of the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier, and eventually captained carrier de Gaulle. He served as Chief of the general staff headquarters of the Armies CEMA from 25 February 2010 to 2014.
Léon Martin Fourichon was a French naval officer, colonial administrator and politician.
Admiral Georges Cabanier was a French Naval Officer and Admiral, in addition to Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour.
Major in France, is a senior superior military rank across various military and security institutions with history dating back well beyond the 18th century.
Jean-Charles-Alexandre Sallandrouze de Lamornaix was a French admiral who served as the Chief of Staff of the French Navy from 1896 to 1898. He died on the Formidable in Cherbourg Harbour. He was decorated with the French Legion of Honor, Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Anna, the Order of Saint Stanislaus, the Order of Aviz, the Order of Christ of Portugal, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the Order of the Medjidie, the Order of the Sacred Treasure and the Order of the Crown of Siam.
François Cornil Bart was a French naval officer who reached the rank of vice admiral. He was the son of the famous privateer Jean Bart.
