Studying French overseas operations

While overseas operations may have a regular place in the current affairs of the Ministry of the Armed Forces today, this does not make them any less an object of history and therefore an object of study. As France sees an exceptional operational commitment, 2017 is the time to put that military involvement in historical perspective, highlighting the place occupied by France in the world for more than 50 years. External operations today form part of the history of contemporary conflicts. Since the 1960s, France has been involved militarily in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Everywhere, it participates in a wide range of missions: assistance to the civilian population, humanitarian intervention, the fight against terrorism, peacekeeping, etc. Following a brief overview of the current situation, this section sets out to chart, over a longer, uninterrupted period, the proud history of the engagement of the French armed forces in overseas operations.