French Mediterranean Fleet
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The French Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, also known as CECMED (French for ''Commandant en chef pour la Méditerranée'') is a
French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. Franc ...
regional commander. He commands the zone, the region and the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
maritime ''arrondissements''. He is usually an admiral of 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 ...
, and is under the direct authority of the French Chief of the Defence Staff. the position was held by Admiral
Yann Tainguy Yann Tainguy (born 24 August 1955) is a French admiral, commanding officer for the Mediterranean maritime defence zone and Maritime Prefect A maritime prefect ( French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French State who exercises author ...
. CECMED today is simultaneously: * Commander of the région and the Mediterranean maritime ''arrondissement'', * Maritime Zone commander, *
Maritime Prefect A maritime prefect ( French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region under French jurisdiction, known as a maritime arrondissement (''Arrondissement maritime''). His admini ...
for the Méditerranean. Today the main French naval combat force in the Mediterranean is the Force d'action navale (FAN) headquartered at
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
. The Admiral commanding the Naval Action Force (ALFAN) is responsible to the
Chief of Staff of the French Navy The Chief of the Naval Staff (French: Chef d’état-major de la Marine, acronym: CEMM) is a French general officer, adviser to the Chief of the Defence Staff for the French Navy and responsible to the Minister of the Armed Forces for preparin ...
at the rue Royale in
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 ...
.


History


Mediterranean Squadron

Vice-amiral François Fournier was Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Squadron (''Commandant en chef l'Escadre de Méditerranée'', :fr:Escadre de la Méditerranée) in January 1899 aboard ''Galilée''. On 20 July 1921 after a series of designation changes, the force again became the Mediterranean Squadron. It became the 1st Squadron on 1 January 1927; the Mediterranean Squadron on 30 October 1936; and the Mediterranean Fleet on 1 July 1939. On the outbreak of war the fleet consisted of the 2nd Squadron (Vice Amiral d'Escadre
Emmanuel Ollive Emmanuel Ollive (18 January 1882 – 1 June 1950) was a French naval officer who served in the First and Second World Wars. Naval career Son of a long-haul captain, he entered the (Naval School) in October 1899 and graduated as a 1st class mi ...
) at
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
, with three older battleships (including ''Bretagne'' and ''Provence'') and their fleet torpedo boat escorts; the 3rd Squadron of two divisions of 10,000-ton cruisers (Algerie, Dupleix, Foch in 1e DC) and three divisions of contretorpilleurs, also at Toulon, and the 4th Squadron at
Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...
with a light cruiser division and three divisions of contretorpilleurs, under Rear Admiral
André Marquis André Marquis (24 October 1883 – 15 October 1957) was a French Vichyist admiral, famous for the scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon. Marquis was of Toulon, and as such, responsible for the administration of the city. He was captured by ...
. In September 1939 the fleet included: *2ème Escadre (VAE Ollive) : Provence (VAE Ollive - CV Barois) **2ème DL : Lorraine * (CA Vallée - CV Aurin) - Bretagne (CV Seguin) **1ère FT (CV Longaud) : ***1ère DT : La Palme ° (CV Longaud) - Le Mars (CC Lamote) –Tempête (CC Pellegrin) ***3ème DT : Le Fortuné ° (CC d’Hespel)– La Railleuse (CC Hourcade) – Simoun (CC Hainguerlot) ***7ème DT : Tramontane ° (CF Renault) - Typhon (CC Le Hagre) – Tornade (CC Labat) *3ème Escadre (VA Duplat) :- **1ère ''Division de Croiseurs'': Algérie *** (VA Duplat - CV Nouvel de la Flèche) - Dupleix (CV Hameury) – ''Foch'' (CV Mathieu) - ''Colbert'' (ship list as of 1 July 1939) **2ème DC : Duquesne ** (CA Kerdudo – CV Husson) – Tourville (CV Marloy) **3ème EL (CA Derrien) : ***5ème DCT : Tartu ° (CV Chomel) - Chevalier Paul (CF Bonnot) – Vauquelin (CF Jaujard) ***7ème DCT : Vautour ° (CF Reboul Hector Berlioz) - Gerfaut (CF Penet) – Albatros (CF Penet) ***9ème DCT : Maillé Brézé ** (CA Derrien) - CF Glotin) - Cassard (CF Braxmeyer) – Kersaint (CF Rebuffel) *4ème Escadre (CA Marquis) : **3ème DC : Marseillaise ** (CA Marquis – CV Hamon) - Jean de Vienne (CV Missoffe) – ''La Galissonniere'' (CV Dupré) **Non endivisionné : Emile Bertin (CV Battet) The twentieth century history of the French Navy in the Mediterranean includes surveillance of actions during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
. On 14 June 1940, the 3rd Escadre executed Operation Samoyède. The squadron, including the cruisers Foch, Algérie, ''Dupleix'' and ''Colbert'', bombarded
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, supported by
French Naval Aviation French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: ''Aéronavale'' (contraction of Aéronautique navale), or ''Aviation navale'', or more simply ''l'Aéro'') is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is ' ...
. In 1940, after the
fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...
, the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
launched the
attack on Mers-el-Kébir The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir (Battle of Mers-el-Kébir) on 3 July 1940, during the Second World War, was a British naval attack on neutral French Navy ships at the naval base at Mers El Kébir, near Oran, on the coast of French Algeria. The atta ...
which disabled most of the French surface fleet in 1940 to prevent it from falling into German hands. In 1942 the
scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon The scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon was orchestrated by Vichy France on 27 November 1942 to prevent Nazi German forces from taking it over. After the Allied invasion of North Africa the Germans invaded the territory administered by Vic ...
took place for the same reason. The Navy also protected troop convoys from
French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...
to France in both World Wars, and played a peripheral role in the
Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
from 1954 to 1962. In 1956 the French Navy joined forces the Royal Navy to take control of the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
during the
Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
. In 1964, the cruiser ''Colbert'' became flagship of the Mediterranean squadron. The regional Mediterranean and Atlantic fleets (Amiral commandant l'escadre de la Méditerranée, ALESCMED, and Atlantic equivalent ALESCLANT), were replaced by ALFAN (the Naval Action Force) and Admiral, Antisubmarine Group (ALGASM) as part of Optimar '95, the post-
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
restructuring process.


Mediterranean naval forces within the Force d'action navale

In the 2020s, French naval forces in the Mediterranean are one element within the Force d'action navale of the French Navy. The ''force d'action navale'' is composed of ships based both in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.https://www.defense.gouv.fr/marine/force-daction-navale However, as of 2022 the majority of the fleet's major combatants are based in the Mediterranean, including: * Six nuclear-powered attack submarines of the Rubis and
Barracuda A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was ...
classes * The aircraft carrier
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
; * Three
Mistral-class amphibious assault ship The ''Mistral'' class is a class of five amphibious assault ships built by France. Also known as helicopter carriers, and referred to as "projection and command ships" (french: links=no, bâtiments de projection et de commandement or BPC), a '' ...
s; * Two Horizon-class air defence frigates; * Four Aquitaine-class frigates; and, * Five
La Fayette-class frigate The ''La Fayette'' class (also known as FL-3000 for "''Frégate Légère de 3,000 tonnes''", or FLF for ''Frégate Légère Furtive'') is a class of general purpose frigates built by DCNS in the 1980s/90s and still operated by the French Navy ...
s.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Commander-In-Chief, Mediterranean (France) French naval components Naval fleets Navy of the Ancien Régime