Général
Général is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers, which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank, which are high-level officers in the other uniformed services.
General officers
Army
History
The French army of the monarchy had several ranks of general officer:- Brigadier des armées du roi : a rank in a grey area of seniority, conferred on certain colonels who were in command of a brigade. These officers wore a colonel's uniform with a star on the shoulder straps. This rank was abolished in 1788.
- Maréchal de camp : the first substantive rank of general. The maréchaux de camp wore a special uniform, blue and red, with a single bar of gold lace, and in the late 18th century also received two stars on the shoulder straps. With the abolition of the rank of brigadier des armées in 1788, it became the lowest general officer rank, but its insignia of two stars remained unchanged. The rank was redesignated Général de brigade in 1793 which retained the two star insignia. This explains why French generals' insignia starts with two stars.
- Lieutenant général: the highest military rank. Lieutenants généraux wore the same uniform as the maréchaux de camp, but with two bars of gold lace, and in the late 18th century also received three stars on the shoulder straps.
- Général: an appointment conferred on a lieutenant général who was commander-in-chief of a campaign.
- Maréchal de France: not a military rank, but a dignity of the Crown.
Napoléon Bonaparte reinstated the dignity of maréchal de France, now named maréchal d'empire. In 1814, the ranks of général de brigade and général de division reverted to maréchal de camp and lieutenant général, but were changed back again in 1848.
The Third Republic of the 1880s reorganised the ranks of général:
- Général de brigade, wearing two stars.
- Général de division, wearing three stars.
- Four-star rank, wearing three star and a holizontal bar above or below it. Considering the personnel balance with general officers of other countries during World War I. measures were taken to give commanders of an army corps and higher units the status and treatment corresponding to the Four-star rank.
- Général commandant un corps d'armée, an appointment conferred on certain généraux de division, wearing four stars. This appointment became the position and style of général de corps in 1936.Général membre du conseil supérieur de la guerre, wearing five stars. The experience of the First World War transformed the structure of the French Army. The superior council of war was abolished and an appointment of général commandant une armée was created. This appointment became the position and style of General of the Army in 1936. The dignity of maréchal de France was reinstated and given to the commanders-in-chief of the conflict, such as Joseph Joffre, Ferdinand Foch and Philippe Pétain.
Ranks as of 2013
In France, army generals are named after the type of unit they command.Specialist officers
Armament
- Ingénieur général de l'armement de deuxième classe
- Ingénieur général de l'armement de première classe
- Ingénieur général de l'armement hors classe
- Ingénieur général de l'armement de classe exceptionnelle
Maritime Administration
- Administrateur général des affaires maritimes de deuxième classe
- Administrateur général des affaires maritimes de première classe
Military Administration
- Commissaire général de deuxième classe
- Commissaire général de première classe
- Commissaire général hors classe
Military engineering
- Ingénieur général militaire d'infrastructure de deuxième classe
- Ingénieur général militaire d'infrastructure de première classe
- Ingénieur général militaire d'infrastructure hors classe