France spends 2.6% of it's GDP on military expenditures and it's GDP is at 32,600$. To compare, Britain spends 2.4% of 34,800$.
These roughly the same numbers should indicate militaries of roughly the same capabilities, however we don't hear about new French super carriers. We don't hear about thousands of well equipped French troops fighting on the frontlines.
My question is, how similar are the French military capabilities to that of Britain? What does France do with all the money it spends on it's military? How good is the French equipment, training etc.
It shouldn't really be necesary, but please refrain from the jokes about French military this time. It's getting old and I'd like a serious thread
What a lot of people forget, especially over here, is that for almost all of our history Britain and France have been almost exactly evenly matched. Only during the Pax Britannica did we pull ahead, and following the second world war we've been levelled somewhat be decolonisation. Nowaday we are (apart from training; the British army is, mostly thanks to a huge amount of operational experience in different theatres that not even the USA can boast, the best-trained army in the world, and for special forces where we are, again, the world's best) again pretty much equal. Only don't say that too loudly or they might start to believe it.
Neverthless the reason nobody hears about French troops in Afghanistan is there's only about a third as many of them as there are UK soldiers, and they're not in anywhere like as hot as Helmand, which is our 'job' and co-incidentally the most dangerous place in the world to be spotted waving around a union jack. They are there, and they have done some very good things, but they're not
there. The Foreign Legion in particular are getting a reputation for being very good soldiers indeed.
Do European countries have geopolitical goals? If so, what are they? I'm judging them from their performance in Afghanistan [so perhaps I'm being unfair], but I thought they had no will or fighting spirit left.
Do you really believe any EU nation other than Britain is capable of setting military geopolitical goals and following through on them?
As much as I hate to say 'bloody ignorant yanks' - bloody ignorant yanks! France, like the UK (although to a much smaller extent) has foreign overseas territories (Réunion and French Guinea, from memory, but there are more) and allied former colonies (mostly in Africa) which it needs to defend, trade routes throughout the globe and so on. Oh yes and a huge amount of coastline, with no land borders with non-allied countries. In other words, if anyone ever invades France it will be from the sea.
They also have a nuclear deterrant, sub-mounted if I remember correctly.
They might build a new supercarrier soon, which might be modelled on the new British one. They already have a rather big nuclear powered one, and a smaller one which they have retired or will retire soon. The reason we haven't heard about french soldiers is because they've been at odds with the US regarding Nato(since the days the moron de Gaulle). I think Sarkozy have fixed this now. The reason they made their own fighterplanes is because the Eurofighters don't work well with carriers.
This is what I know about the French military without looking at wikipedia.
I actually admire de Gaulle, because he was determined to keep French sovereignty intact. Whether or not doing so was in the best national interest is another matter.
Actually the
Charles de Gaulle has been held up to BAE as an example of how not to build a warship because while it's a very nice sleek grey war canoe of death it's also hugely inefficient for a ship its size and basically does the job of something far smaller and cheaper. Vive la methode francaise!
And no I can't provide a link.
)
