France's military power?

Question

Allright, politics aside... is france's military any good?.....could they fight off the US if we would invade them?.....how would a war between them and the US play out?...thanks for your answers...

Answer 1

An oxymoron! aaAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! XD

The french are cowards and quitters. They haven't won a war for centuries.

Answer 2

France has a great army for putting on a parade. They're real good at everything except fighting. They would much rather let someone else do the fighting for them. They'll sit back and criticize.
In the second world war, I fought all the way across France. The French army had been defeated by Hitler, but weapons were everywhere. German rifles, ammunition, grenades, everything was scattered on the battle fields.
Did the French arm themselves with these weapons and help fight the Germans ? Hey! you can get hurt doing that. The Americans will do the fighting and dieing, we'll sit back and tell how much better we can do it. That's their philosophy.
How would a war play out ? There can be no war against France. Just light a fourth-of-July salute - - the war is over.
A sign in a gun shop - - For sale French army rifle, never fired, dropped once.

Answer 3

LOL!

I'm not anti-french or anything and I'm not a french-hater like alot of Americans today seem to be.

But if America were EVER to invade France, and assuming that Frances allies do not intervene, there would be no question that France's surrender would come 10 times quicker then it didn when Germany walked right into Paris.

You know why the streets of Paris are lined with trees?

So that the Germans could invade in the shade.

Seriously, that's how it would play out. But it won't happen. France IS our ally. And without France, there would be no America.

That's just the way it is. France is alright. But it wouldn't win in a war with the United States; no way.

Answer 4

First and foremost lets define the political situation, lets assume that France will be defending itself with out the help of other European nations, and that the US could bear down its full military force.
The wars most important aspect would be in the air, the French air force is a capable fighting force. The US would need to run a constant air campaign lasting months to weaken the French defenses. As well the thought of the US moving in a military force capable of conquering France with out England as a staging area would be a daunting task. Removing the restrictions of public opinon and politics I thnk the US could invade France, but it would be a long conflict.

Answer 5

France has actually invested heavily in re-equipping their military since '91 invasion of Iraq exposed many weaknesses. They have a new, modern tank called the LeClerc which is assessed by Janes to be on par with tanks like the Leopard 2, M1A2, Challenger 2 etc. France also makes top notch aircraft like to the Rafale. France has one of the few navies that possesses a true aircraft carrier (The DeGaulle), also Attack Helicoptors, HOT AT missiles, etc.

The French arms industry has always had good sales in areas that were former colonies and especially in the middle east. This has allowed them to keep producing quality hardware despite a weak home market.

The French military weakness comes from a lack of force protection capability. The entire European Union failed to put together a 20,000 man expeditionary force. As much as we like to critisize the French because of their lackluster performance in WWII I would have to say that the state of the US military at the outset of the war was not much better. The French actually have a long martial tradition. Let's face it, there are a lot of wars in Europe and no country is ever truly defenseless. Even Switzerland has a massive army reserve.

Many people do not realize either that France has actually been second only to England in helping us in the war on terror. France disagreed with invading Iraq but has been our best intelligence source in counter-terrorism. France has been fighting Muslim terrorists since the moors invaded. Also, French counter terrorist specialists play a lot rougher than our Army is allowed to.

Projecting force across the Atlantic to invade France would be possible. We have overwhelming force. Faced with obvious destruction France would capitulate to prevent destruction of her cities. The idea is rediculous of course.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

During Gulf War 1, France was not capable by itself to get to Saudia Arabia (where the troops were being built up), even though in theory it's possible to drive there. Their military has gone down hill from there. They have even ditched the French Foriegn Legion. Recently went to Lebanon as part of a peace process between Hezbolah and Israel, France said they would disarm Hezbolah and prevent Hezbolah from crossing a certain river that's in south Lebanon. Now they are in bunkers and demanding the Lebanon military do all of that even though some believe that Lebanon's military backs Hezbolah and is even considered as part of Lebanon's military.

All the U.S. really has to do is hold France's southern boarder and let the influx of immigrants finish the French off.

Answer 8

Why would our American friends invade our country ?

There's nothing to gain in invading France, except french nuclear weapons, which will destroy the equivalent of France (in terms of population, economy...) in the invader's own country, whichever it is.

On the other hand, Americans are always welcome to visit (and not to invade) France, to invest in France, to participate to military exercises beside our own forces.

If France fascinate you so much, why don't you come as a friend, not as an enemy ? I can't understand why the peacefully American people would approve such an invasion. That would be a nonsense.

Answer 9

A1. France has a capable military force that rivals the US Forces.

A2/3. They could possibly fight off a U.S. invasion, though I honestly do not foresee such a situation happening. Both nation states lack a key component required for victory. The political will to actually participate in sustained combat operations and extreme aversion/sensitivity to casualties.

Answer 10

France has always had good troops, good tactical leaders, and top-notch equipment (though they're known for keeping the old stuff around forever). And St. Cyr is a top school. They've always been let down by politics and doctrine.
And in a head-up generation-2 or -3 war, there is nobody that can stand against the US budget. We spend to conquer.

Answer 11

france doesnt really have an invading/defending military. could they fight off the U.S.? well a bunch of untrained arabs in the desert are doing it with 40 year old assault rifles and homeade bombs right now.... the question is HOW LONG it would take us to take over france. they don't have the massive military infrastructure that we do, but they do have a modernized western style military, and they have nukes (which we gave them, so you know they work)

France has arguably one of the best special forces in the world. among British SAS and spetnaz. The US is NOT one of the top 3... but before anyone flies off the chain I know that US special forces are some major badasses and could kill me in 1000 different ways before i hit the ground... just that the french, brits or russians could kill me 1001 ways....