This article lists the various overseas military bases of France . The maintenance of overseas military bases enable the French Armed Forces to conduct expeditionary warfare, and often tend to be located in areas of strategic or diplomatic importance.
In the French terminology, the "prepositioned forces" consist of the "sovereignty forces" based in the Overseas France and the "forces of presence" based abroad.
| Number in map above | Territory | Garrison | No. of personnel | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French Guiana | Les forces armées en Guyane (FAG) | 2,100 | [1] |
| 2 & 3 | Réunion & Mayotte | Les forces armées dans la zone Sud de l’océan Indien (FAZSOI) | 1,650 | [1] |
| 4 | New Caledonia | Les forces armées en Nouvelle Calédonie (FANC) | 1,400 | [1] |
| 5 | French West Indies | Les forces armées aux Antilles (FAA) | 1,000 | [1] |
| 6 | French Polynesia | Les forces armées en Polynésie française (FAPF) | 900 | [1] |
| 7, 8, 9 | French Southern and Antarctic Lands | Les forces armées dans la zone Sud de l’océan Indien (FAZSOI) | 250 | [1] |
| Number in map above | Country | Deployment | No. of personnel | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 |  Djibouti | Les forces françaises stationnées à Djibouti (FFDj) | 1,700 | [1] |
| 11 |  United Arab Emirates | Implantation militaire française aux Émirats arabes unis (IMFEAU) | 650 | [1] |
| 12 |  Ivory Coast | Les forces françaises en Côte d'Ivoire (FFCI) | 600 | [1] |
| 13 |  Gabon | Les éléments français au Gabon (EFG) | 450 | [1] |
| 14 |  Senegal | Les éléments français au Sénégal (EFS) | 350 | [1] |
| Number in map above | Country | Deployment | No. of personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15, 16 |  Germany | French Forces and Civilian Elements stationed in Germany (FFECSA) | 500 |
| Country | Deployment | No. of personnel | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
 Mali | 2,000 [2] | ||
 Burkina Faso | 400 | ||
 Central African Republic | 2,000 [3] | ||
 Niger | Niamey Air Force Base | 1,500 |
The Cameroon Armed Forces are the military of the Republic of Cameroon. The armed forces number 40,000 personnel in ground, air, and naval forces. There are approximately 40,000 troops in the army across three military regions. Approximately 1,300 troops are part of the Cameroonian Navy, which is headquartered at Douala. Under 600 troops are part of the Air Force. There is an additional 12,500 paramilitary troops that serve as a gendarmerie or reconnaissance role.
The French Armed Forces are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' military reserve force. As stipulated by France's constitution, the president of France serves as commander-in-chief of the French military. France has the eighth largest defence budget in the world and the second largest in the European Union (EU). It also has the largest military by size in the EU. A 2015 Credit Suisse report ranked the French Armed Forces as the world's sixth most powerful military.
The Compagnies républicaines de sécurité, abbreviated CRS, are the general reserve of the French National Police. They are primarily involved in general security missions, but the task for which they are best known is crowd and riot control. They often arrive in large vans which are known as Camions Remplies de Singes. The DCCRS has seven units: in Paris, Lille, Rennes, Bordeaux, Marseille, Lyon and Metz.
The French Air and Space Force is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the French Air Force. On 10 September 2020, it assumed its current name, the French Air and Space Force, to reflect an "evolution of its mission" into the area of outer space.
The GIGN is the elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection, and targeting organized crime.
The Minister of the Armed Forces is the leader and most senior official of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, tasked with running the French Armed Forces. The minister is the third-highest civilian having authority over France's military, behind the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister. Based on the governments, they may be assisted by a minister or state secretary for veterans' affairs.
The European Gendarmerie Force (EUROGENDFOR) is a European rapid reaction force composed of elements of several European police and gendarmerie forces. EUROGENDFOR is tasked with performing policing tasks within the scope of crisis management operations.
Chevalier Paul is a Horizon-class frigate of the French Marine Nationale commissioned in June 2009, the third vessel of the French Navy named after the 17th century admiral Chevalier Paul. The main mission of this type of ship is the escort and protection of a carrier strike group formed around an aircraft carrier, usually Charles de Gaulle or one of the aircraft carriers of the US Navy, or an amphibious operation carried out by amphibious helicopter carriers. The ship's specialty is air traffic control in a war zone, but it can be employed in a wide variety of missions, such as intelligence-gathering, special forces operations, or in protecting less well-armed vessels. Horizon-class frigates such as Chevalier Paul are the most powerful surface combatants that France has ever built. In service since the end of 2011, it bears the pennant number D621. Its namesake is Jean-Paul de Saumeur, better known as Chevalier Paul, a French naval officer born in Marseille in 1598.
The P4 is an unarmoured off-road vehicle used by the military of France. It was manufactured by Peugeot but is now manufactured by Panhard. It is to be replaced with the PVP by Panhard. The P4 is a derivative of the Mercedes Geländewagen military version built under license by Peugeot for the French military. Peugeot did not have a licence to export the vehicle anywhere else than to the countries bound to France by defence agreements.
Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport is a joint civilian/military-use airport situated in the town of Ambouli, Djibouti. It serves the national capital, Djibouti. The airport is located approximately 6 kilometres from the city centre. It occupies an area of 10 square kilometers.
The National Gendarmerie is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, with additional duties from the Ministry of Armed Forces. Its responsibilities include policing smaller towns, suburbs and rural areas, crowd and riot control, criminal investigation, including cybercrime. By contrast, the National Police is a civilian law enforcement agency that is in charge of policing cities and larger towns. Because of its military status, the Gendarmerie also fulfills a range of military and defence missions. The Gendarmerie has a strength of around 102,269 people.
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the military head of the Armed Forces of the French Republic, overseeing all military operations. They are responsible to the Minister of the Armed Forces and their deputy is the Major General of the Defence Staff. Since the 1950s, the office has been held only by four-star generals (OF–9), either from the Army, the Navy, or the Air and Space Force. The current Chief is General Thierry Burkhard, who took the position on 22 July 2021.
The Air Gendarmerie is the unit of the French Gendarmerie protecting the Air bases of the French Air and Space Force and investigating aviation accidents and incidents when a military aircraft is involved, whether it belongs to the Air force or to any other military branches.
The Camouflage Central-Europe is the standard camouflage pattern of the French Armed Forces.
The People's Liberation Army Support Base in Djibouti is a military base operated by China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), located in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. It is the PLAN's first overseas military base and was built at a cost of US$590 million. The facility is expected to significantly increase China's power projection in the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean, as well as the PLAN's blue water capabilities.
The Intelligence Command is a two-star command and military intelligence formation of the French Army formed following the end of the Cold War and expanded after the 2016 reorganisations.
Thierry Burkhard is a French Army general who has served as Chief of the Defence Staff since 22 July 2021. He previously served as Inspector of the French Army (2018–2019) and Chief of Staff of the French Army (2019–2021).
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