Civil-Military Relations in France: Is There a Gap?

The goal of this article is to provide a preliminary assessment of civil-military relations in France at the beginning of the full professionalisation of the French armed forces. Using existing data, the author laid out a basis of comparison to evaluate the future evolution of civil-military relations. Since key elements of data, particularly surveys of military personnel about the state of civil-military relations, are missing. A detailed comparison with the U.S. military policy is not always possible. However, the existing data do reveal interesting patterns, beyond a high level of global confidence in the military.