French contribution to NATO
FRENCH CONTRIBUTION TO NATO
1. France is among the five leading troop contributors to NATO operations
France is participating in NATO’s various operations:
In Kosovo, with 2,000 troops in KFOR, she is the fourth-largest contributor after the United States, Germany and Italy.
She also has 970 troops in Afghanistan in ISAF and commands the Kabul region. Also, outside NATO, but in the framework of Operation Enduring Freedom, she also has Special Forces and naval surveillance capabilities. She is also providing air support (2 tactical transport aircraft and 3 fighters).
If you look at all NATO operations, France is among the five leading troop contributors, with a total of nearly 3,000.
2. – France is the third-largest contributor to the common budgets funding Alliance operations
France makes the third-largest contribution (12.87%) to the budgets for all the Alliance’s operations and military missions.
For instance, France is contributing around 55 million euro to ISAF (operation and investment). This is the third-largest contribution from an Alliance nation, behind the United States and Germany and ahead of the United Kingdom, Italy and Canada.
3. She is providing on average 13% of the manpower of the NRF (NATO Response Force)
This rapid response force spearheads NATO’s transformation to adapt it to the changing nature of its missions.
France contributes to every NRF rotation (every six months). France is one of the four leading contributors, at the same level as the British.
Her contribution to the current NRF 7 (until the end of December):
2,600 troops to the "Land Component" (EUROCORPS is the land HQ)
14 planes to the "Air Component" (6 fighters, 4 intelligence-gathering, 2 tactical transport and 2 tanker aircraft)
to the "Naval Component" (1 helicopter-carrying frigate, 2 minehunters and 2 maritime patrol aircraft).
The only NRF live exercise with deployment took place in Cape Verde this summer. EUROCORPS, to which France makes a large contribution, played a major role.
4. At the political level, France is actively involved in supporting NATO’s transformation
She is making an essential contribution to defining the main choices regarding the development of the Alliance’s activities. She has opted, in addition to her participation in the operations, to be present in the new structures through which NATO is being modernized (Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk and NATO Response Force).
5. France also has a military presence in other strategic theatres in the world
France is also participating under a UN mandate in stabilization and peacekeeping operations, including in Lebanon where she has 1,700 troops (UNIFIL), Côte d’Ivoire with 3,600 troops (principally LICORNE) and Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of the EU mission (EUFOR-ALTHEA). All in all, nearly 14,000 French soldiers are deployed in military operations abroad, a similar figure to that of the United Kingdom. Furthermore, another 20,000 French troops are positioned across the world helping stabilize situations (mainly in Africa) under specific agreements./.
Notes and links:
President Chirac’s article on the Riga Summit
Allied defence effort (see table below):
Main current Nato members
| Military manpower | Defence spending (€m) | |
| United States | 1,400,000 | 434,000 |
| United Kingdom | 215,000 | 39,500 |
| France | 360,000 | 32.200 |
| Germany | 260,000 | 23,400 |
| Italy | 320,000 | 13,700 |
| Spain | 125,000 | 6,800 |