Background
The previous French carriers, Clemenceau and Foch, were completed in 1961 and 1963 respectively. The requirement for a replacement was identified in the mid-1970s, which became the 40,600-tonne nuclear powered Charles de Gaulle (R91), laid down in April 1989 at the DCNS Brest naval shipyard. This carrier was completed in May 1994, but not officially commissioned until 2001 due to a large number of problems. These included the need to lengthen the flight deck after aircraft trials, a broken propeller and vibration and noise problems. The French Navy was understood to be unwilling to proceed with another carrier of the same design and by 2003 the possibility of sharing the Royal Navy design emerged to fulfil the French requirement for a second carrier.
The requirement for the carriers was confirmed by Jacques Chirac in 2004 for the centennial of the Entente Cordiale and on 26 January 2006 the defence ministers of France and Britain reached an agreement regarding cooperation on the design of their future carriers. France agreed to pay the UK for access to the design due to the investment made to date. These payments were £30m in January 2006, £25m in July 2006 and a further £45m if France decides to proceed with the project.
The FY2008 French defence budget included the necessary funding (€3b) for the ship. However the carrier has not yet been ordered and a different design may be chosen because of disagreements over the propulsion.
Read more about this topic: Future French Aircraft Carrier
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