This article lists the various overseas military bases of France. The maintenance of overseas military bases enable the French Armed Forces to conduct expeditionary warfare, or "external operations", known as OPEX (), and often tend to be located in areas of strategic or diplomatic importance.
As of July 2025, roughly 30,000 military personnel are deployed by the French Armed Forces around the world. Between 6,000 and 10,000 personnel are deployed in Metropolitan France; 9,050 personnel of the country's "sovereignty forces" are deployed in Overseas France; and 3,150 personnel of its "prepositioned forces" are deployed in countries it considers strategically significant. It also has 950 personnel engaged in Opération Chammal in Iraq; 2,500 personnel engaged in NATO missions in Eastern Europe; 600 personnel engaged in European Union missions; and 750 personnel engaged in United Nations missions. It also has 150 personnel in the Combined Maritime Forces and 900 personnel in French maritime deployments. 3,800 personnel are also engaged in recurring missions.
Map
Active deployments Sovereignty forces Number in map above Territory Garrison No. of personnel Note 1 French Guiana Les forces armées en Guyane (FAG) 2,650 3 Réunion & Mayotte Les forces armées dans la zone Sud de l’océan Indien (FAZSOI) 2,100 4 New Caledonia Les forces armées en Nouvelle Calédonie (FANC) 2,000 5 French West Indies Les forces armées aux Antilles (FAA) 1,100 6 French Polynesia Les forces armées en Polynésie française (FAPF) 1,000
Prepositioned forces
Number in map above Country Deployment No. of personnel Note 7 Les forces françaises stationnées à Djibouti (FFDj) 1,500 8 Implantation militaire française aux Émirats arabes unis (IMFEAU) 750 9 Les éléments français au Gabon (EFG) 250
Others Number in map above Country Deployment No. of personnel 2 French Forces and Civilian Elements stationed in Germany (FFECSA) 500
Former deployments
Country Deployment Date of withdrawal No. of personnel 7 June 2021 200 17 February 2022 5,000 19 February 2023 400 Niamey Air Force Base 22 December 2023 1,500 31 January 2025 1,000 17 July 2025 350 Les forces françaises en Côte d'Ivoire (FFCI) By end of 2025 600
See also Mission Aigle List of countries with overseas military bases Power projection
References
External links Forces prépositionnées (defense.gouv.fr)