Ranks in the French Army

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Marshals

The title of Maréchal de France is awarded as a distinction, rather than a rank. The marshals wear seven stars and a baton.

An infamous example would be Philippe Pétain, who became famous as Maréchal Pétain, and retained his title even after his trial and imprisonment and after he was stripped of other positions and titles.

Officers

• the regular officers of the Army
• the commisary of the Army
• the officers of the technical and administrative corps of the Army.

Généraux - General officers

Général d'armée: In command of an army. This is not a genuine rank, but a function assumed by some généraux de division

The is no distinction between infantry and cavalry generals, since they are all supposed to be able to command any type of unit.

Officiers supérieurs - Senior officers

• Colonel : in command of a regiment or a groupement (in the Gendarmerie). During the French Revolution, they were called "chef de brigade". The origin of the difference in metal color is that infantry officers once wore silver epaulettes, while those of the cavalry and other arms wore gold, and the color of the rank badge had to differ from these metals in each case.
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Infantry

• Lieutenant-colonel: same responsibilities as a colonel. They were called "major" during the First French Empire. Notice that the metal colors alternate silver and gold in each case, as opposed to those of the colonels. This characteristic goes back at least to alternating stripes on the headdress of that empire.
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• Commandant: also called chef de bataillon in the infantry, chef d'escadrons in the cavalry and chef d'escadron in the artillery.
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Officiers sulbalternes - Junior officers

• Capitaine: in command of a company (infantry), a squadron (cavalry) or a battery (artillery)
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• Lieutenant: in command of a section (infantry), a peloton (cavalry) or a brigade (gendarmerie)
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• Sous-lieutenant: same prerogatives as the lieutenant
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• Aspirant : Acting Officer or Officer Candidate.
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• Aspirant : Reservist Officer, Student Officer or Cadet. During the first years at the schools of École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr or École militaire interarmes or Ecole des Officiers de la Gendarmerie Nationale
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Majors

• Major: same prerogatives as the lieutenant.
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Note the difference with Anglo-Saxon ranking systems, where "majors" rank as commandants.

Sous-officiers - Warrant officers

• Adjudant-chef : same prerogatives as the lieutenant. In the cavalry, they are addressed as "Mon lieutenant" by lower ranks, but by "Mon adjudant" by higher ranks.

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adjudant-chef des armes à pied

• Adjudant : same prerogatives as the lieutenant
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• Sergent-chef (infantry) or Maréchal des logis-chef (cavalry), addressed as "chef"
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• Sergent (infantry) or Maréchal des logis (cavalry) : in command of a group
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• Eleve Sous-Officier Student warrant officer at the ENSOA.
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The aspirants or sous-lieutenants are rookie officers and are aided by adjudants or adjudants-chefs, who are experienced warrant officers. The lieutenant are experienced junior officers, aided by sergeants who are learning how to command a section.

Militaires du rang - Enlisted

Caporal-chef de première classe. Distinction created in 1999.

• Soldat de deuxième classe: No rank insignia. Depending on the arm, they are called
• * fantassin (infantry)
• * légionnaire (Légion étrangère)
• * artilleur (artillery)
• * sapeur (engineering, including the sapeurs-pompiers de Paris)
• * chasseur ("Hunter": light troops)
• ** chasseurs à pied (Light Infantry)
• **chasseurs à cheval (Light Mounted Infantry)
• ** chasseurs alpins (Light Alpine Infantry)
• * dragon (Dragoon: Mounted Infantry unit)
• * cuirassier (Cuirassier: Heavy Cavalry unit)
• * hussard (Hussar: Light Cavalry unit)
• * transmetteur (signals corps)
• * conducteur (trains).

• SLANG
• * Bigor (Artillerie de la marine; see Troupes de marine): A term either from the gunner's order to fire (Bigue de hors) or a term for a species of sea slug (bigorneau) because they would stick to their emplacements and couldn't be removed easily.
• * Colo (Troupes Coloniales): The former term for the Troupes de la Marine when they were Colonial troops.
• * Marsouin (Troupes de marine): From a term for the Harbour Porpoise, due to their duties at sea or on land.
• * Para (Troupes aéroportées): Airborne troops.
• * Poilu (Infanterie): "Hairy One". A derogatory term, much like the Commonwealth Forces term Pongo ("Smelly one").

Ingénieurs du service du matériel

• Ingénieur général de première classe
• Ingénieur général de deuxième classe
• Ingénieur en chef de première classe
• Ingénieur en chef de deuxième classe
• Ingénieur principal
• Ingénieur de première classe
• Ingénieur de deuxième classe
• Ingénieur de troisième classe

Table of ranks

See also

• Ranks in the French Navy

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