{"id":71101,"date":"2026-07-14T07:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T05:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naval-encyclopedia.com\/?page_id=71101"},"modified":"2026-07-14T07:00:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T05:00:21","slug":"marine-nationale-today","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dbodesign.com\/modern\/marine-nationale.php","title":{"rendered":"Marine Nationale Today"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"French Marine Nationale 1991-Today<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n

\"\" Current strength (2025-26): c40,000+ personnel, 7,000 civilians, 180 ships, 178 aircraft.
\nAs of 2026, the Marine Nationale benefits of an augmented budget (Loi de programmation 2024-2030, 36Bn Euros) to accelerate French’s rearmament following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and 2% NATO commitment to the PIB, with two major programmes, the new SLNE 3G (3nd gen. SSBN) and new aircraft carrier FS “France Libre”. This is a clear bounce off the previous trajectory of massive bugdet restrictions, low PIB percentage, surfing on the “dividends of peace” since 1995, despite’s the country world’s second largest EEZ. The fleet had been completely renewed through many programs and no longer counts any legacy cold war vessels, apart the Lafayette class Frigates and current carrier FS Charles de Gaulle, both initiated in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

The Modern French Navy (Marine Nationale) is very much the product of the cold war\u2019s end like most European Navies, meaning a massive decread in military spending. But with a twist: France left NATO by a decision of president De Gaulle and only joined back from 2004 with an official full integration officialized in 2009 under Pdt. Nicolas Sarkozy. Also France had in 1991 and still today, the world\u2019s second largest EEZ, and thus, kept the same responsibility to maintain a large off-shore navy, usually with corvettes, light frigates or OPVs and crowned by the Aircraft Carrier Main Battle Group if things became awry at any point around the globe. The second constant, not abrogated by the end of the cold war, was French deterrence, now incarnated almost only by french SSBNs since the land component was discarded in the early 2000s and the air component was drastically reduced. The cost of maintainin a fully independent deterrent is still a burden to the French military expenditures today, eating the part of budget for the Marine Nationale that could have been used to build extra frigates.<\/p>\n

From 1991 to this Day<\/h2>\n

Order of Battle, 1991<\/h3>\n

If the war broke out just before the actual fall of USSR in January 1991 for example, what would have been the French contribution to the western war effort at sea ?
\nFrance had the following:
\n-2 aircraft carriers (Clemenceau class) of the size of a WW2 Essex class (discarded 1998-2000).
\n-1 guided missile cruiser, flagship FS Colbert (discarded May 1991 so still around)
\n-10 destroyers: La Galissoni\u00e8re (d.1990 but still around), Duperr\u00e9 (trials ships and still around), and Du Chayla (d.1991) of the early generation, modernized, 2 Suffren class large GMDs (D.2001-2007), 3 Tourville class GMDs (D.1999-2013), 2 Cassard class GMDs (Last entering service in 1991).
\n-7 Frigates: 7 Commandant Rivi\u00e8re class (+1 mothballs, d.1990-96)
\n-17 D’Estienne d’Orves class corvettes (D.2000s)
\n-6 fast attack craft: 1 La Combattante, 5 Trident class
\n-17 OPVs: Sterne, 7 Leopard class, 10 Audacieuse class (+Grebe in completion)
\n-45 Amphibious assault ships: 2 Ouragan class LSDs (1965), Bougainville (1986), 2 Foudre (1 completing), 5 Champlain class, 2 Sabre, Gapeau, 2 Rapi\u00e8re, 16 CTM class, 19 CTM-17 class
\n-20 Mine warfare ships: 5 Circ\u00e9, 10 Eridan (+6 const.), 4 Vulcain +1 Narvik class
\n-c50+ Auxiliaries: Albatros, D’Entrecasteaux, P778 motor launches (1974), P770 motor launches (1975), P760 motor launches, ATHOS patrol boats (1980). In construction: STELLIS motor launches (1992)<\/p>\n