Rank insignia in the French Army are worn on the sleeve or on shoulder marks of uniforms, and range up to the highest rank of Marshal of France, a state honour denoted with a seven-star insignia that was last conferred posthumously on Marie Pierre Koenig in 1984.
Infantry arms and cavalry arms
Rank insignia in the French army depend on whether the soldier belongs to an infantry or cavalry unit. The infantry arms () include normal infantry, naval troops, the Foreign Legion and engineers; cavalry arms () include armoured cavalry, artillery, maintenance and logistics. Sleeves are emblazoned with marks denoting either gold insignia for the infantry or silver/white for the cavalry. However, the artillery uses gold as the main colour, despite being a cavalry branch, and spahis use gold as the main colour despite being part of the cavalry, a distinction representing the armoured cavalry.
Marshal
thumb|upright|80px|Insignia of a marshal of France
The title of "Marshal of France" () is awarded as a distinction, rather than a rank. A Marshal wears seven stars and carries a baton.
Since 1916, as a distinction rather than a rank, the title of Marshal has been granted through special laws voted by the National Assembly. For this reason, it is impossible to demote a Marshal. The most famous example of this was Marshal Philippe Pétain, notorious as "chief of state" of the Vichy France regime. When he was convicted for high treason, the judges were empowered to demote his other ranks and titles. But due to the principle of separation of powers, the judges had no authority to cancel the law that had made Pétain a Marshal. It remained the only title he kept after being sentenced.
Six Marshals of France have been given the even more exalted title of "Marshal General of France" (): Biron, Lesdiguières, Turenne, Villars, Saxe, and Soult.
Officers
Although they all wear the same insignia and titles, officers are divided into:
- Regular officers of the army
- Officers of the Armed Forces Commisariat Corps (formerly Army Commisariat Corps)
- Officers of the technical and administrative corps of the armed forces (formerly of the Army)
- general officers
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
! rowspan=2| NATO<br />rank
! colspan=3| Rank insignia
! colspan=2| Name
! rowspan=2| Description
|-
! Shoulder
! Sleeve
|-
! OR-6
| 50px
| 50px
|
| Chief sergeant
In use : chiefChief marshal of lodgings
In use : chief
| Addressed as "". Typically a platoon second-in-command.
|-
! rowspan=2|OR-5
| 50px
| 50px
|
| SergeantMarshal of lodgings
| Typically in command of a "group" (i.e. squad).
|-
| 100px
| 50px
|
| Sergeant upon leaving ENSOAMarshal of lodgings upon leaving ENSOA
| Graduate from ENSOA before acquisition of "."
|-
!OR-D
| 100px
|
|
| ENSOA non-commissioned officer student
| Student at the National Active Non-Commissioned Officers School (ENSOA)
|}
- Troop ranks
Junior enlisted grades have different cloth stripe and beret colors depending on the service they are assigned to. ("from the French mainland") wear blue, (the former ) wear red, and the (Foreign Legion) wear green.
A red beret indicates a paratrooper, whether from the troupes de marine or not. A legionnaire paratrooper wears a green beret with the general parachutist badge on it, the same badge used by all French Army paratroopers who have completed their training.
Senior grades' lace stripe metal depends on their arm of service, just like the officiers. Infantry and support units wear gold stripes and cavalry and technical services units wear silver stripes.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
! rowspan=2| NATO<br />rank
! colspan=2| Rank insignia
! colspan=2| Name
! rowspan=2| Notes
|-
! Shoulder
! Camouflage
! French
! English translation
|-
! rowspan=2| OR-4
| 50px
| 50px
|
| Chief corporal first class
| after at least 11 years of service and appropriate qualifications.
|-
| 50px
| 50px
|
! rowspan=2| Notes
! colspan=2| Grade
! colspan=2| Grade but wear insignia of the appearance of a general military rank, in order to have their position recognized for the application of the obligations, rights and prerogatives of military personnel.
{| class="wikitable centre"
!Insignia