Army general Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

() is the highest active military rank of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

and the

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie ( ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police (France), National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Minister ...

. 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 Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

or Chief of the Defence Staff. It is an OF–9 NATO rank, equivalent to the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

rank of . In the army, only a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

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.

History

The rank was created on 6 June 1939 by a decree of the President of the French Republic published in the ''

Journal Officiel de la République Française The ''Official Journal of the French Republic'' (), also known as the ''JORF'' or ''JO'', is the government gazette of the French Republic. It publishes the major legal official information from the national Government of France, the French Pa ...

'', 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the design of the full dress uniform kepi 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 city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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 Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

, 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 Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

. 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