The French military has been ridculed for years, due to its dismal performance in World War II and Vietnam.

 Lately, however, the reputation is belied by the facts. The French military is one of the most experienced in the world, especially in brushfire wars. French special units - commandos, parachutistes, and the Foreign Legion - are excellent, well-respected troops.

 Basic Training:American

 ARMY

 ISSUE EQUIPMENT

• Mat49 Submachine Gun (mostly obsolete)
• FAMAS Assault Rifle
• FRF1 Sniper Rifle
• AAT52 Machine Gun
• PA15 Pistol
• AMX30 and AMX40 Main Battle Tanks
• AMX10 Infantry Combat Vehicle
• VAB APC
• ERYX and Milan ATGM
• VBL, ERC90 and AMX-10RC Armored Cars
• Gazelle (scout/anti-tank), Puma (transport), and the
  Ecureuil (light transport) Helicopters

Special Forces:

• Fusiliers-Marins Commandos - Naval Raider Table
• Etranger Parachutistes -Raider Table (This is a Foreign Legion unit)

Legion Etrangere

 Best known as the "Foreign Legion". They take US Marine basic training, and may select careers as shown below. The Legion is, obviously, open to foreigners - any character of any nation may join, even with a prison record.

Units and their peacetime stations are as follows: 

• 1 REI (Infantry - France), use Infantry and Support tables.
• 2 REI (Infantry - France), use Infantry and Support tables.
• 3 REI (Infantry - French Guyana; specialize in jungle warfare.  Based there
  to protect the French space program), use Light Fighter tables.
• 4th REI (Infantry - France), use Infantry and Support tables.
• 1 REC (Armd Cav - France), Use Armored Cavalry and Support tables.
• 6 Engineer Regt (France), use Combat Engineers tables
• 13 DBLE (Demi-Brigade, infantry - Djibouti) use Infantry and Support tables.
• 2 REP (Airborne - Corsica).  Use Airborne tables. The 2 REP has four companies, each with a specialized role - 1st (night, urban, and anti-tank warfare), 2nd (mountain and arctic warfare), 3rd (amphibious warfare) and the 4th companie which is trained as a stay-behind force (if invaded, they would hide and let the front line pass them by or drop behind the lines, then they would use their training in sniping, demolitions and sabotage to harass the enemy's rear).
• 13th Regiment de Dragons Parachutistes - LRRP Table (Add Parachute 1 to first Term)

NAVY

No Seabees

 Naval Aircraft Used

 Naval pilots receive Pilot: 5 rather than 6 as initial skill.

 The French Navy has two aircraft carriers, with plans to replace them with two new nuclear ships.

• Fighter: Crusader, Rafale
• Recon: Atlantique
• Attack: Etendard
• Strike: Etendard

 FRENCH AIR FORCE

 Pilots Receive Pilot: 5 as initial skill.

 Aircraft Used

• FighterMirage F1/2000
• ReconJaguar
• AttackJaguar
• EWMirage F1
• StrikeMirage F1
• BomberMirage IV
• TransportTransall

Civilian Agency of Interest

 GIGN - SAS Table - This is one of the world’s busiest counterterrorism units.  Formed in 1974, they are a unit of the national Gendarmerie, or police.  Applicants must have served a term as French State/Local Law Enforcement before joining. 

Prior Conflicts:

• Algerian Civil War ('50s'60s)
• Vietnam (until 1956)
• Gulf War (1991): Light Armored Division served alongside the US VII Corps.
• Chad (vs. Libya - mid '80s)
• The 2 REP was dropped into Zaire by the USAF in 1978 to protect Europeans during a rebellion there. 
• The 2 REP was sent to Rwanda to help quell the trobles there in the early
  90's.
• One Foreign Legion regiment (either the 2nd or 3rd) was among the
  peace-keepers in the former Yugoslavia.
• The GIGN has been very, very busy.
   

Check out my company site, which pays the bills for this little hobby.  The copyright for Twilight/Merc2000 is owned by Tantalus Games Inc.   However, the game is kept alive by hobbyists worldwide, whom I thank for giving this site a reason to exist. 

Site  (c) 2001 Mitch Berg.  Twilight 2000 and Merc 2000 (c) Tantalus Games Inc.

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