The French Navy is one of eight naval forces currently operating fixed-wing aircraft carriers, with its flagship Charles de Gaulle being the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside the United States Navy, and one of two non-American vessels to use catapults to launch aircraft.
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The French Navy pioneered several innovations in naval technology, including the first steam-powered ship of the line, first seagoing ironclad warship, first mechanically propelled submarine, first steel-hulled warship, and first armoured cruiser.
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Original symbol of the French Navy was a golden anchor, which, beginning in 1830, was interlaced by a sailing rope; this symbol was featured on all naval vessels, arms, and uniforms.
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French Navy was succeeded by his protege, Jean Baptiste Colbert, who introduced the first code of regulations of the French Navy and established the original naval dockyards in Brest and Toulon.
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The most grueling conflict for the French Navy was the Seven Years' War, in which it was virtually destroyed.
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French Navy regrouped and rebuilt, and within 15 years it was eager to join the fray when France intervened in the American Revolutionary War.
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French Navy's dreams were dashed by the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, where the British all but annihilated a combined Franco-Spanish fleet, a disaster that guaranteed British naval superiority throughout the Napoleonic Wars.
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Emperor Napoleon III was determined to follow an even stronger foreign policy than his predecessors, and the French Navy was involved in a multitude of actions around the world.
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French Navy joined in the Crimean War in 1854; major actions for the Navy include the siege of Petropavlovsk and the Battle of Kinburn.
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The Sino-French Navy War saw considerable naval action including the Battle of Fuzhou, the Battle of Shipu, and the Pescadores Campaign.
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In Vietnam, the French Navy helped wage the Tonkin Campaign which included the Battle of Thuan An, and it later participated in the Franco-Siamese War of 1893.
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In 1863, the French Navy launched Plongeur, the first submarine in the world to be propelled by mechanical power.
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The French Navy played an important role in countering Germany's U-boat campaign by regularly patrolling the seas and escorting convoys.
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Between the World Wars, the French Navy modernized and expanded significantly, even in the face of limitations set by the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty.
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However, after the fall of France in June 1940, the French Navy was obligated to remain neutral under the terms of the armistice that created the truncated state of Vichy France.
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The incident poisoned Anglo-French Navy relations, leading to Vichy reprisals and a full-scale naval battle at Casablanca in 1942 when the Allies invaded French Navy North Africa.
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French Navy later provided fire support and troop transport in the Indochina War, the Algerian War, the Gulf War, and the Kosovo War.
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Since 2000, the French Navy has given logistical support to the War in Afghanistan as well as the global War on Terror.
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French Navy as planned for the late 2030s: a Batiment ravitailleur de forces conducts simultaneous underway replenishment with the Future French aircraft carrier and with a Fregate de defense et d'intervention .
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However, the French Navy programme had been delayed several times for budgetary reasons and the result was priority being given to the more exportable FREMM project.
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French Navy operates three amphibious assault ships, and has a commitment to ten air defence and anti-submarine frigates, five general purpose frigates and six fleet submarines .
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Rank insignia of the French Navy are worn on shoulder straps of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels.
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Main military musical unit of the French Navy is the Band of the Toulon Fleet, founded on 13 July 1827.
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