An expanded French Armed Forces contingent at the multinational exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 exemplifies the nation’s enduring commitment to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
More than 430 French personnel are among the 35,000 troops from 19 nations conducting drills across Australia and, for the first time in the exercise’s 20-year history, in Papua New Guinea. Three dozen paratroopers from France’s overseas territory New Caledonia joined German and United States forces for a night airborne insertion in Queensland, the first French personnel to conduct a jump in Australia.
French Armed Forces troops also partnered with the Australian Army, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Republic of Korea Marines and Navy, and the U.S. Marine Corps to rapidly transfer equipment and personnel from ship to shore via landing craft to secure a beach in north Queensland.
The three-week Talisman Sabre, which began its 11th iteration in mid-July and is led by Australia and the U.S., is an opportunity “to engage in high-level training across all domains and operational environments, addressing both current and future challenges — from crisis management to potential major engagements,” the French Armed Forces stated.
France has 7,000 military personnel deployed across its seven overseas territories in the region, stretching from the southern Indian Ocean to the South Pacific and accounting for 7 million square kilometers of exclusive economic zone. “These forces are essential for protecting national territories and ensuring the security of 1.6 million French citizens in the region,” according to the statement.
In addition to the biennial Talisman Sabre, French forces participate in regional exercises including Croix du Sud, Marara, Pitch Black and Rim of the Pacific. In January 2025, the French Navy Carrier Strike Group, including the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, led exercise La Perouse, which focused on protecting critical maritime choke points linking the Indian and Pacific oceans. Participants included Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
“To be well prepared, you have to train well and therefore exercises with partners, including Australia, are frequent,” French Ambassador to Australia Pierre-André Imbert told the Special Broadcasting Service in July 2025. “Everyone learns a lot.”
IMAGE CREDIT: AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE DEPARTMENT
In recent months, France has unveiled initiatives to deepen defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, including with longtime partners Indonesia and Singapore. Priorities include joint training and technology development, maritime security, and arms sales.
French President Emmanuel Macron outlined the increasing threats to regional stability during his keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore in May 2025. He told national defense leaders that revisionist countries want to impose “spheres of coercion … to control areas from the fringe of Europe to the archipelagos in the South China Sea at the exclusion of regional partners, oblivious to international law.”
Through participation in multilateral exercises such as Talisman Sabre, France reaffirms its commitment to freedom of navigation in the air and at sea, and its respect for state sovereignty and international law, the nation’s Armed Forces stated.
“At a time when the Indo-Pacific is emerging as a space of strategic rivalry, where revisionist powers pursue predatory agendas, France’s permanent presence and power projection capabilities give it a crucial role.”
