Rank insignia in the French Army are worn on the sleeve or on shoulder marks of uniforms, and range up to the highest rank of Marshal of France, a state honour denoted with a seven-star insignia that was last conferred posthumously on Marie Pierre Koenig in 1984.

Infantry arms and cavalry arms Rank insignia in the French army depend on whether the soldier belongs to an infantry or cavalry unit. The infantry arms () include normal infantry, naval troops, the Foreign Legion and engineers; cavalry arms () include armoured cavalry, artillery, maintenance and logistics. Sleeves are emblazoned with marks denoting either gold insignia for the infantry or silver/white for the cavalry. However, the artillery uses gold as the main colour, despite being a cavalry branch, and spahis use gold as the main colour despite being part of the cavalry, a distinction representing the armoured cavalry.

Marshal

The title of "Marshal of France" () is awarded as a distinction, rather than a rank. A Marshal wears seven stars and carries a baton.

Since 1916, as a distinction rather than a rank, the title of Marshal has been granted through special laws voted by the National Assembly. For this reason, it is impossible to demote a Marshal. The most famous example of this was Marshal Philippe Pétain, notorious as "chief of state" of the Vichy France regime. When he was convicted for high treason, the judges were empowered to demote his other ranks and titles. But due to the principle of separation of powers, the judges had no authority to cancel the law that had made Pétain a Marshal. It remained the only title he kept after being sentenced.

Six Marshals of France have been given the even more exalted title of "Marshal General of France" (): Biron, Lesdiguières, Turenne, Villars, Saxe, and Soult.

Officers Although they all wear the same insignia and titles, officers are divided into: Regular officers of the army Officers of the Armed Forces Commisariat Corps (formerly Army Commisariat Corps) Officers of the technical and administrative corps of the armed forces (formerly of the Army)

- general officers NATOrank Rank insignia Name Description Shoulder Sleeve Camouflage French English translation OF-9 Army general In command of an army. OF-8 Army corps general In command of an army corps. OF-7 Divisional general In command of a division. OF-6 Brigade general In command of a brigade, or of a in the Gendarmerie.

There is no distinction between infantry and cavalry generals, since they are all supposed to be able to command any type of unit. The rank was formerly designated as Lieutenant-General of the Armies until 1791. The official historic succession of the "Lieutenant-General of France" corresponded to Général de division for the French Army, and Vice-Amiral (Vice-Admiral) for the French Navy. The rank of Général de corps d'armée wasn't officially adopted until 1939, along with five other French Armed Forces ranks. It must also be noted that Army corps general and Army general are not really ranks, but styles and positions (Rang et appellation in French) bestowed upon a Divisional general, which is the highest substantive rank in the French Army.

- senior officers NATOrank Rank insignia Name Notes Shoulder Camouflage French English translation OF-5 Colonel A colonel commands a regiment of the army or a of the Gendarmerie. Cavalry arms wear silver. OF-4 Lieutenant colonel The has the same responsibilities as a colonel. OF-3 Commandant Also called in the infantry, in the cavalry and in the artillery and in the army light aviation. Equivalent to a major in most English-speaking countries.

- junior officers NATOrank Rank insignia Name Notes Shoulder Camouflage French English translation OF-2 Captain In command of a company () of infantry, a squadron () of cavalry or a battery () of artillery. OF-1 Lieutenant This the first commissioned rank held by officers trained at the and the . Commands a platoon () of infantry, a troop () of cavalry, or a of the Gendarmerie. Sub-lieutenant A rank held during the third year at the , and during the second year at the .This is the first commissioned rank held by contract officers trained at the . OF-D Aspirant A rank held by officer cadets from the during their internship with the troops. Technically it is not a commissioned rank but it is still treated in all respects as one. The aspirant must have been previously . They will afterwards be commissioned as a . This is also a rank for volunteers serving as temporary officers (). Officer cadet A rank held during the first and second years at the , during the first year at the and during the initial military training at the for officer cadets under leadership contracts, specialist contracts and pilot contracts.

- sub-officers, i.e. non-commissioned officers NATOrank Rank insignia Name Notes Shoulder Camouflage French English translation OR-9 Major Senior sub-officer rank since 1 January 2009 this grade is attached to the . Prior to this date it was an independent between the and the . There is typically at least one per regiment and several in a brigade. Chief Adjutant Often same responsibilities as the lieutenant. OR-8 Adjutant Often same responsibilities as an adjudant-chef. OR-7 chief sergeant BM2 In use : chiefChief marshal of lodgings BM2 In use : chief Introduced in September 2022, as part of a reform to the NCO ranks, for sergeants qualified as platoon leaders. OR-6 Chief sergeant In use : chiefChief marshal of lodgings In use : chief Addressed as "". Typically a platoon second-in-command.OR-5 SergeantMarshal of lodgings Typically in command of a "group" (i.e. squad). Sergeant upon leaving ENSOAMarshal of lodgings upon leaving ENSOA Graduate from ENSOA before acquisition of "."OR-D ENSOA non-commissioned officer student Student at the National Active Non-Commissioned Officers School (ENSOA)

- Troop ranks Junior enlisted grades have different cloth stripe and beret colors depending on the service they are assigned to. ("from the French mainland") wear blue, (the former ) wear red, and the (Foreign Legion) wear green.

A red beret indicates a paratrooper, whether from the troupes de marine or not. A legionnaire paratrooper wears a green beret with the general parachutist badge on it, the same badge used by all French Army paratroopers who have completed their training.

Senior grades' lace stripe metal depends on their arm of service, just like the officiers. Infantry and support units wear gold stripes and cavalry and technical services units wear silver stripes.

NATOrank Rank insignia Name Notes Shoulder Camouflage French English translation OR-4 Chief corporal first class after at least 11 years of service and appropriate qualifications. Chief corporalChief brigadier Often same responsibilities as a . OR-3 CorporalBrigadier In command of an - literally a team (fireteam). Presently this size unit is a in the army. OR-2 Private first class This is a distinction rather than a rank. OR-1 Private Depending on the arm, private soldiers have distinctive titles as per below.

Distinctive titles for privates and privates first class (infantry) (French Foreign Legion) (artillery) (engineering, including the Paris Fire Brigade) ("hunter": light troops used for reconnaissance and harassment) (light infantry) (light mounted infantry) (light alpine infantry) (airborne infantry commandos) (dragoon: mounted infantry unit) (heavy cavalry unit) (hussar, light cavalry unit) (signals corps) (trains) Slang (; see Troupes de marine): A term either from the gunner's order to fire () or from a species of winkle () because they would stick to their emplacements and couldn't be removed easily. (Troupes coloniales): The former term for the when they were colonial troops. (): Airborne troops, short for parachutist". (troupes aéroportées): Airborne troops "grunt". Friendly nickname. (literally "porpoise"; marines or naval infantry). A name coined by French sailors as they said the marines, like porpoises, hung about ships, playing games and doing no work. (): "Hairy one". A term that appeared during the First Empire and used to refer to the French soldiers as they often wore a beard and/or a moustache—and were represented that way on memorials. Nowadays, this term is used to refer to French soldiers who fought in the trenches of World War I, but is seldom used to refer to World War II soldiers. It is symbolic of bravery and endurance. slang used by and to designate other infantry units. Probably comes from the fact that and naval riflemen used to own their uniforms and were proud of it, whereas other units were dressed in rags ( is an old French word for rag). This word is not used to designate a legionnaire.

There are also distinctions to distinguish volunteers and conscripts, and bars for experience (one for five years; up to four can be obtained).

Armament Engineers and Armament Design and Technology Engineers The combat engineer officers are using normal military rank designations, but the Armament Engineers and the Armament Design and Technology Engineers have special rank titles signifying them as members of a technological auxiliary corps. NATOrank Rank insignia Grade"Décret n° 2008-941 du 12 septembre 2008 portant statut particulier du corps militaire des ingénieurs de l'armement." Légifrance. Version en vigueur au 29 août 2025. Retrieved 2025-08-29.[ "Décret n° 2011-1235 du 4 octobre 2011 fixant les indices de solde applicables au corps militaire des ingénieurs de l'armement, aux corps d'officiers de l'armement et au corps des ingénieurs militaires d'infrastructure de la défense." Lëgifrance. Version en vigueur au 29 août 2025.Retrieved 2025-08-29. Notes French English translation OF-9 Engineer general exceptional class OF-8 Engineer general special class OF-7 Engineer general first class OF-6 Engineer general second class OF-5 (Armament Engineers) (Armament Design and Technology Engineers) Chief engineer Chief engineer 1st class With more than two years in grade for Armament Engineers OF-4 (Armament Engineers) (Armament Design and Technology Engineers) Chief engineer Chief engineer 2nd class With less than two years in grade for Armament Engineers OF-3 Principal engineer OF-2 Engineer 4th to 9th level for Armament Engineers 6th to 10th level for Armament Design and Technology Engineers OF-1 Engineer 2nd and 3rd level f3rd year at ENSTA for Armament Design and Technology Engineers Engineer 1st level for Armament EngineersSecond year at ENSTA for Armament Design and Technology EngineersOF-Dn/a Aspirant During the preliminary year of training at the armed forces and during the first year at ENSTA Bretagne or ENSTA Paris for Armament Design and Technology Engineers.

Armed Forces Commissariat Service The branch specific commissariat services have been replaced by an Armed Forces Commissariat Service common for Armed Forces of France.