Army general Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the General officer#French (Revolutionary) system, French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of genera ...

(french: Général d'armée) is the highest active military rank of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

and the

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie nationale, ) 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 Minis ...

. It is also used in the Air and Space Force, where it is called . Officially, it is not a rank but a position and style bestowed on some

divisional general Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

s, which is the highest substantive rank, in charge of important commands, such as Chief of Staff of the French Army or Chief of the Defence Staff. It is an OF–9 NATO rank, equivalent to the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

rank of . In the army, only a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...

has precedence; however, Marshal of France is not a rank but a dignity in the State, and the last Marshal of France died in 1967. There is no higher rank in the Air Force and Gendarmerie.

History

The rank was created on 6 June 1939 by a decree of the

President of the French Republic The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...

published in the ''

Journal Officiel de la République Française A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

'', following a joint report by the Ministers of War, of the Navy and of the Air. They came to the conclusion that the higher hierarchy was more often in relation with the one of other countries, which frequently had more than two general ranks. By necessity, two positions and styles were created to address this issue, army general and corps general. The decree also provided that the divisional generals already commanding a corps were made corps generals and the ones members of the Superior War Council army generals.

Insignia description

A French army general displays five stars on a shoulder board; the number of stars should not be compared with that of generals from other NATO countries, usually denoted by four stars only. The rank in the National Gendarmerie additionally displays a golden grenade above the stars. No shoulder board are worn on the full dress or service dress uniform; instead, the insignia is worn on the sleeves. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the design of the

full dress uniform Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, ...

kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword of french: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the gsw, Käppi, a diminutive form of , meaning "cap". In Europe, this headgear is most ...

for a general changed, now also displaying the stars. It was already the case for field headgear, with no other ornament than the stars.

Other

The mention of the current usage of "a sixth star authorized for the army general in command of the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

sector" is an urban legend. The title of army general in France and elsewhere should not be confused with the rank of general of the army, which is more senior, and corresponds to other countries'

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

. The rank of "general of the army" ''theoretically'' corresponds to overall command of an entire national army with several armies in the field, while the title "army general" only corresponds to the command of an individual army in the field.

Notes

References

Military ranks of France Military articles needing translation from French Wikipedia es:General de Ejército#Francia {{France-mil-stub

History

Insignia description

Other

See also

Notes

References