Chief of the Defence Staff (France) explained

Post:	Chief
Body:	the Defence Staff
Insignia:	Emblème de l'État-Major des armées (EMA).svg
Insigniacaption:	Insignia
Flag:	Marque CEMA.svg
Flagborder:	yes
Flagcaption:	French: [[List of French flags#Military|Marque]]^[1]
Incumbent:	Army General Thierry Burkhard
Incumbentsince:	22 July 2021
Department:	Ministry of the Armed Forces
Abbreviation:	C.E.M.A.
Member Of:	Chiefs of Staff Committee
Reports To:	Minister of the Armed Forces
Seat:	Hexagone Balard, Paris
Appointer:	President of the Republic
Appointer Qualified:	requires the Prime Minister's countersignature
Constituting Instrument:	Decree 1982–38 Decree 2005–520 Decree 2009–869 Decree 2013–816
Formation:	^[2]
Deputy:	Major General of the Defence Staff

The Chief of the Defence Staff (French: Chef d'État-Major des Armées [''CEMA''];) is the military head of the Armed Forces of the French Republic, overseeing all military operations (under reserve of the particular dispositions relative to nuclear deterrence). They are responsible to the Minister of the Armed Forces and their deputy is the Major General of the Defence Staff. Since the 1950s, the office has been held only by four-star generals (OF–9), either from the Army, the Navy, or the Air and Space Force. The current Chief is General Thierry Burkhard, who took the position on 22 July 2021.

History

Commander-in-Chief of the Armies

See main article: Grand Quartier Général (1914–1919).

While non-official, the term Generalissimo or « (French: [[:fr:Généralissime|Généralissime]]) » was employed since 1914 to designate the individual who in reality was Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the North and North-East « (French: Commandant en Chef des Armées du Nord et du Nord-Est) ». The term would be made official in 1915 when Joffre was also given command over the Salonika front (a degree of authority not enjoyed by his successors). The rank and post was successively occupied by three generals during World War I: Joseph Joffre, who occupied the rank and functions from August 1914 without bearing the official title, then Robert Nivelle and Philippe Pétain.

Général Ferdinand Foch was the Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Zone under Joseph Joffre in autumn 1914; this role later crystallised into command of French Army Group North, a position which Foch held until December 1916. Subsequently, Foch became Supreme Allied Commander on the Western Front with the title Généralissime in 1918 then was designated as « Commandant en Chef des Armées Alliées » (English:Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces) starting 14 May 1918.^[3] Foch was promoted to Marshal of France prior the planning of the offensive that led to the Armistice of 11 November 1918. Following the armistice, Marshal Ferdinand Foch was elevated to the dignity of the Marshal of Great Britain and Poland.

Chief of Staff of National Defence

Toward the end of the Second World War, Charles de Gaulle who was Commander-in-Chief of the Free French Forces was assisted by a Staff of National Defence. It was headed by a Chief of Staff who had authority over all armed forces. This was the first time that a joint staff of the French armed forces was created.^[4]

However the Chiefs of the Army, of the Navy and of the Air Force were opposed to this office after the war as they fear they would lose their independence of action. This opposition was eventually hushed up and the position of Chief of Staff of the Armies (under various other names until 1962) was created on 28 April 1948.

Functions

Responsibilities

The CEMA assists the Minister of the Armed Forces in its capacity attributions to make use of the various required forces and their general organisation. They are consulted on direction to be given to planning and programming work and may be charged by the Minister with any study concerning the armies. The Chief of Staff is responsible for coordinating the requirements of the forces in support of joint services. The CEMA, in virtue of decree dispositions of 15 July 2009, under the authority of the President of the French Republic, the French government, and under the reserve of the particular dispositions relative to nuclear deterrence, is responsible for the use of forces and commandment of all military operations. The CEMA is the military counselor of the government.

They bring together the proposals of the Delegate General of Armaments (DGA), the Chiefs of Staff of each army, and the directors of joint services in the areas of planning and programming. After consulting the DGA on technical and industrial possibilities, they shall report to the Minister on all the work and shall propose to them the measures necessary to ensure their consistency with regard to employment and their accounting with the foreseeable financial resources, as assessed by the Secretary General for Administration (SGA), and present a draft decision.

Their responsibilities consist of:

• The conduct of operations : plans of use, general articulation of forces, distribution of operational means between theatre commanders (over whom he has full authority)
• The joint service organizations and the general organization of the armed forces: oversees the coherence of the armed forces organisation
• The expression of the need in material of human resources of the armed forces, the joint institutions, and the definition of the ensemble format of the armed forces. Planning and programming of military capacities. Oversees in effect of coherence in means of the armed forces and participates to the preparation and various executions of associated military and defence budgets.
• The preparation and condition assignments of recruiting in the armed forces: is in check of forces aptitude in missions completion and has a permanent right of inspection over these forces.
• Support of the armed forces: determines the general organizations and objectives, assures the operational maintenance in condition of all equipments and determines the joint needs of various material infrastructures and that of the armed forces while verifying status of operability
• The intelligence assessment of military interest: ensures the general research direction and exploitation of the military intelligence
• International military relations: directs French foreign military missions in foreign theatres, organizes the participation of the armed forces in regards to military cooperations, following international mandated negotiations and represents France at the various military committees of international organizations.

Authority

The Chief of Staff of the Armies has authority over the:

• Chief of Staff of the Army
• Chief of Staff of the Air and Space Force
• Chief of Staff of the Navy

These four Chiefs constitute the Chiefs of Staff Committee, chaired by the Minister.The CEMA is assisted by a Major General of the Defence Staff, a senior ranked officer of the French Armed Forces, who will deputize if needed.

Additionally, directly under the CEMA authority are:

• the General Staff of the Armies (État-Major des Armées, EMA)
• the Inspectorate of the Armies (Inspection des Armées, IDA)
• the superior commanders in the overseas departments, the commanders in foreign areas (COMSUP and COMFOR), the general officers of the defence and security areas (OGZDS) and the departmental military delegates (DMD)
• Joint service institutions:
  • Directorate of Military Intelligence (Direction du Renseignement Militaire, DRM)
  • Special Operations Command (Commandement des Opérations Spéciales, COS)
  • Joint Defence Staff of Strength and Training (État-Major Interarmées de Force et d'Entraînement, EMIA-FE)
  • Central Directorate of the Health Service of the Armies (Direction Centrale du Service de Santé des Armées, DCSSA)
  • Central Directorate of the Fuel Service of the Armies (Direction Centrale du Service des Essences des Armées, DCSEA)
  • Joint Directorate of Infrastructure Networks and Information Systems (Direction Interarmées des Réseaux d'Infrastructures et des Systèmes d'Information, DIRISI)
  • Central Directorate of the Commissariat Service of the Armies (Direction Centrale du Service du Commissariat des Armées, DCSCA)
  • Joint Ammunitions Service (Service Interarmées des Munitions, SIMu)
  • Directorate of Superior Military Education (Direction de l'Enseignement Militaire Supérieur, DEMS)

Name of the office

The office took various names during its history:

• President of the Committee of the Chiefs of the General Staffs of the Armed Forces (1948–1950)
• President of the Committee of the Chiefs of the Combined Staff of the Armed Forces (1950–1953)^[5]
• Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (1953–1958)
• Chief of the General Staff of the Armies (1958–1961)
• Chief of the Joint Staff (1961–1962)
• Chief of Staff of the Armies (1962 –)

List of chiefs

Provisional Government

	Portrait	Rank & Name	Term			Branch		Commander-in-Chief	Ref.
Took office <	-- In France the term starts the day following the date of the decree, unless a date is specified in it. -->	Left office <	-- In France the term ends the day the successor starts his term. -->	Duration
		Army general				Army	André Diethelm	Charles de Gaulle	- ^[6]
		Army general				Army	André Diethelm Edmond Michelet		^[7] -
								Félix Gouin Georges Bidault Vincent Auriol

Fourth Republic

	Portrait	Rank & Name	Term			Branch		Commander-in-Chief	Ref.
Took office <	-- In France the term starts the day following the date of the decree, unless a date is specified in it. -->	Left office <	-- In France the term ends the day the successor starts his term. -->	Duration
Office established
1		Air corps general					Pierre-Henri Teitgen René Mayer [...] Georges Bidault René Pleven	Vincent Auriol	^[8] -
2		Army general				Army	René Pleven		^[9] -
3		Army general				Army	René Pleven Marie-Pierre Kœnig		^[10] ^[11]
								René Coty
4		Army general				Army	Marie-Pierre Kœnig Emmanuel Temple [...] Pierre Billotte Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury		^[12] -
5		Army general				Army	Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury André Morice Jacques Chaban-Delmas Pierre de Chevigné		^[13] -
6		Army general				Army	Pierre de Chevigné Charles de Gaulle		^[14] -

Fifth Republic

	Portrait	Rank & Name	Term			Branch		Commander-in-Chief	Ref.
Took office <	-- In France the term starts the day following the date of the decree, unless a date is specified in it. -->	Left office <	-- In France the term ends the day the successor starts his term. -->	Duration
7		Army general				Army	Charles de Gaulle Pierre Guillaumat	René Coty	^[15] -
								Charles de Gaulle
8		Army general				Army	Pierre Guillaumat Pierre Messmer		^[16] -
9		Air army general					Pierre Messmer		^[17] -
10		Army general				Army	Pierre Messmer		^[18] -
11		Air army general					Pierre Messmer Michel Debré		^[19] -
								Georges Pompidou
12		Air army general					Michel Debré Robert Galley Jacques Soufflet Yvon Bourges		^[20] -
								Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
13		Army general				Army	Yvon Bourges		^[21] -
14		Army general				Army	Yvon Bourges Joël Le Theule Robert Galley		^[22] ^[23]
15		Army general				Army	Robert Galley Charles Hernu		^[24] ^[25]
								François Mitterrand
16		Air army general					Charles Hernu Paul Quilès André Giraud		^[26] ^[27]
17		Army general				Army	André Giraud Jean-Pierre Chevènement Pierre Joxe		^[28] ^[29]
18		Admiral				Navy	Pierre Joxe François Léotard Charles Millon		^[30] ^[31]
								Jacques Chirac
19		Air army general					Charles Millon Alain Richard		^[32] ^[33]
20		Army general				Army	Alain Richard Michèle Alliot-Marie		^[34] ^[35]
21		Army general				Army	Michèle Alliot-Marie		^[36] ^[37]
22		Army general				Army	Michèle Alliot-Marie Hervé Morin		^[38] ^[39]
								Nicolas Sarkozy
23		Admiral				Navy	Hervé Morin Alain Juppé Gérard Longuet Jean-Yves Le Drian		^[40] ^[41]
								Nicolas Sarkozy François Hollande
24		Army general				Army	Jean-Yves Le Drian Sylvie Goulard Florence Parly		^[42] ^[43]
								François Hollande Emmanuel Macron
25		Army general				Army	Florence Parly		^[44] ^[45]
								Emmanuel Macron
26		Army general				Army	Florence Parly		^[46] ^[47]

See also

• Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic
• Head of the Prime Minister's military cabinet
• Head of the Minister of Defence's military cabinet
• Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force
• Chief of Staff of the French Navy
• Chief of Staff of the French Army
• Special Operations Command
• Directorate General of the National Gendarmerie

References

Notes

External links

• Official website
• Gallery of the chiefs since 1971 on defense.gouv.fr

Notes and References

1. Web site: Marques, honneurs, saluts et visites dans les forces navales et à bord des bâtiments de la marine militaire. gallica.bnf.fr. fr. 10 August 1939. 29 February 2020.
2. Web site: Décret du 28 avril 1948 portant regroupement des états-major généraux de la guerre, de la marine et de l'air et création de l'état-major général des forces armées. fr. 28 April 1948. 20 August 2019. gallica.bnf.fr. Government of the French Republic.
3. http://crid1418.org/espace_pedagogique/lexique/lexique_ej.htm#22 Lexique des termes employés en 1914–1918
4. The origins of the CEMA. May 2007. Philippe Vial. Revue Historique des Armées . 248 . 29–41 . 18 August 2019.
5. Web site: Décret relatif à la réorganisation de la défense nationale. fr. 1 April 1950. 20 August 2019. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic.
6. News: De Gaulle Visit To Cover 5 Days. Paul W. Ward. https://web.archive.org/web/20121107102316/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1683731762.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jul+05,+1944&author=&pub=The+Sun+(1837-1985)&desc=De+Gaulle+Visit+To+Cover+5+Days&pqatl=google. dead. 7 November 2012. The Sun. 5 July 1944. 10 July 2011.
7. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. gallica.bnf.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 12 August 1944. 29 February 2020.
8. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. gallica.bnf.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 28 April 1948. 29 February 2020.
9. JORF #22 - P868 - 25 January 1951
10. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 18 August 1953. 29 February 2020.
11. Book: Bruce Frankum, Ronald. Operation Passage to Freedom: the United States Navy in Vietnam, 1954–1955. 2007. Texas Tech University Press. 978-0-89672-608-6. 7.
12. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 8 June 1954. 29 February 2020.
13. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 1 March 1956. 29 February 2020.
14. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 17 May 1958. 29 February 2020.
15. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 9 June 1959. 29 February 2020.
16. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 25 February 1959. 29 February 2020.
17. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 11 April 1961. 29 February 2020.
18. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 18 July 1962. 29 February 2020.
19. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 29 March 1968. 29 February 2020.
20. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 31 March 1971. 29 February 2020.
21. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 10 June 1975. 29 February 2020.
22. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 11 July 1980. 29 February 2020.
23. News: Gen. Claude Vanbremeersch, 60, Retired Chief of Staff for France. en. 11 February 1981. AP. The New York Times. 28 October 2019.
24. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 31 January 1981. 29 February 2020.
25. News: 300 Legionnaires given send-off for Beirut. en. 20 August 1982. Steven Rattner. The New York Times. 28 October 2019.
26. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 28 May 1985. 29 February 2020.
27. News: French Pick Military Chief . en. 23 May 1985. Los Angeles Times. 28 October 2019.
28. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 9 November 1987. 29 February 2020.
29. News: Chronicle. en. 25 July 1991. Eric Pace. The New York Times. 28 October 2019.
30. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 8 April 1991. 29 February 2020.
31. News: France Planning Nuclear Tests Despite Opposition, Chirac Says. en. 14 June 1995. Craig R. Whitney. The New York Times. 28 October 2019.
32. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 3 August 1995. 29 February 2020.
33. News: Serbs release two French pilots help 1/2 months. en. 13 December 1995. Christine Spolar. The Washington Post. 28 October 2019.
34. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 4 March 1998. 29 February 2020.
35. News: NATO to adopt more aggressive air strike tactics. en. 9 April 1999. The Irish Times. 28 October 2019.
36. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 12 September 2002. 29 February 2020.
37. News: General Bentegeat Visits French Forces in Kosovo. en. 5 November 2002. NATO. 28 October 2019.
38. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 31 August 2006. 29 February 2020.
39. News: French commandos swoop after pirates free hostages. en. 11 April 2008. Reuters. Crispian Balmer. 20 August 2019.
40. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 1 February 2010. 29 February 2020.
41. News: Mali conflict: French 'fighting Islamists in Diabaly'. en. 16 January 2013. BBC. 20 August 2019.
42. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 16 January 2014. 29 February 2020.
43. News: Dunford Receives French Legion of Honor. en. 13 July 2017. United States Department of Defense. Jim Garamone. 20 August 2019.
44. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 19 July 2017. 29 February 2020.
45. News: Macron names François Lecointre new armed forces chief. en. 19 July 2017. France 24. 20 August 2019.
46. Web site: Décret portant affectation d'un officier général. legifrance.gouv.fr. Government of the French Republic. fr. 7 July 2021. 1 September 2021.
47. News: What pushed General Lecointre to step down as head of French armed forces?. en. 15 June 2021. Radio France Internationale. 1 September 2021.