The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale ("National Navy") and often called La Royale, is the maritime arm of the French military. Tracing its roots back from 1624 it is one of the world's oldest naval forces and historically played a key part in establishing the French colonial empire. Its roles include the protection of French interests abroad and the maintenance of global stability.
The Marine nationale consists of five branches, the Force d'Action Navale, the Forces Sous-marines, the Aeronavale, the Fusiliers Marins (including Commandos de Marine) and the Gendarmerie maritime.
As a blue-water navy the Marine nationale operates a wide range of fighting vessels, including a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, nuclear-powered submarines, frigates, patrol boats and support ships.
Its motto is Honneur, Patrie, Valeur, Discipline ("Honour, Fatherland, Valour, Discipline") and these words are found on the deck of every ship in the fleet.
Read more about French Navy: History, The French Navy Today, Future Developments, Ranks of The National Navy, Gallery
Famous quotes containing the words french and/or navy:
“The terrible tabulation of the French statists brings every piece of whim and humor to be reducible also to exact numerical ratios. If one man in twenty thousand, or in thirty thousand, eats shoes, or marries his grandmother, then, in every twenty thousand, or thirty thousand, is found one man who eats shoes, or marries his grandmother.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Give me the eye to see a navy in an acorn. What is there of the divine in a load of bricks? What of the divine in a barber’s shop or a privy? Much, all.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)