The French army is administered by the War Departments, or Ministry of War, with General Andre at its head, assisted by a military cabinet and the chiefs of various bureaux. The chief of the general staff of the army is responsible to the Minister, and controls the directorates of infantry, cavalry, engineers, artillery, finance, etc.

In 1904 the effectives with the colors are estimated as follows: 29,000 officers, 520,831 men, and 142,474 horses, being a diminution of 76 officers and 6,228 men as compared with 1903. The establishment will be 515,600 men. The smaller number embodied results from the contingent being less than in previous years.

The Active Army is constituted as follows: 652 battalions of infantry, 30 battalions of chasseurs, 10 foreign, 20 zouaves, 24 Algerian tirailleurs, 1 Saharan tirailleurs, and 5 African light infantry: total, 742 battalions, 13,370 officers, 24,432 non-commissioned officers, 342,068 men: total, 379,890. The cavalry form 31 regiments of dragoons, 21 of chasseurs, 14 of hussars, 13 of cuirassiers, 6 of chasseurs d'Afrique (all of 5 squadrons), and 4 of Spahis, variously constituted, numbering in all 448 squadrons, 3,891 officers, 4,552 non-commissioned officers, 64,756 men: total, 73,199, and 61,028 horses. The organization of the artillery is as follows: field batteries, 434; horse batteries, 52; mountain batteries, 22; foot (or fortress) batteries, 112: in all, 620; officers and men, 77,213. The engineers (including railway troops) number 7 regiments, 20 battalions and 3 railway companies) with telegraphists, ballooning troops, etc., officers and men, 13,426; and the military train has 20 squadrons (comprising 72 companies), officers and men, 8,167.

In relation to the organization given above, it must be noted that owing to the class embodied in November, 1903, consisting only of 196,000 men, as compared with 238,000 enrolled in the previous year, it has been decided to abolish 68 companies of the fourth battalions of regiments which had not been completely formed. These fourth battalions were raised in 1897, and could only be properly organized in 93 out of 145 subdivisional regiments. In consequence of the latest abolition there remain only 65 fourth battalions, not including the 18 belonging to district regiments, which are all up to strength.

The forces are organized in 20 army corps, exclusive of the Paris garrison; their headquarters being at Lille, Amiens, Rouen, Le Mans, Orleans, Chalons-sur-Marne, Besan-con, Bourges, Tours, Rennes, Nantes, Limoges Clermont-Ferrand, Lyons, Marseilles, Mont-pelier, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Algiers, Nancy.

A proposal is before the French parliament for reducing the period of service with the colors to two years, and it is the general opinion that the measure will become law. It is proposed to embody a considerable number of re-enlisted men in order to make good the deficiency that will arise.

Under the existing rules every Frenchman should serve three years in the active army, ten years in the reserve of the active army, six years in the territorial army and six years in the reserve of the territorial army. For administration, training and mobilization, the units of the territorial army, as well as the active reserve, are attached to the corresponding units of the active army. The reserve troops are: 145 infantry regiments, 30 chasseur battalions, 38 cavalry regiments formed with the line and light cavalry regiments of the corps cavalry brigades, 41 other squadrons formed with the divisional cavalry regiments, and 216 batteries of field artillery. 12 to each artillery brigade. The territorial forces are 145 battalions of infantry, 7 of rifles, 10 of zouaves, 40 battery groups of field artillery and 16 of foot artillery, 21 battalions of engineers, and 19 squadrons of train. There are special dispositions in regard to some army corps, and a large number of battalions and independent companies are employed in the customs and forest service. In regard to the localization of the troops, it should be noted that a large force is quartered on the German frontier, where the 6th corps has been divided into two, and a new corps thus created. The reserve of the active army includes about 1,320,000 men, and the Territorial Army and its reserve about 2,270,000.

It has been estimated that the French army, with its various reserve and territorial forces, includes 3,500,000 trained men on a war footing, and that 4,000,000 untrained men might be embodied.

The French colonial army has been brought under the authority of the Ministry of War, and comprises 6 brigades of infantry, 12 battalions of field artillery, 6 mountain batteries, and 12 garrison batteries.

In Madagascar and Indo-China are 10 battalions of French and 18 battalions of native infantry, and 4 field, 6 mountain, and 5 garrison batteries; in West Africa, 2 French and 8 native battalions, 2 mountain and 3 garrison batteries; in Martinique, 7 French and 10 native battalions, and 2 field, 3 mountain and 3 garrison batteries; and in various other stations some 6 French and 3 native battalions, with 1 mountain and 5 garrison batteries. For some time past France has been strengthening her military forces in French Indo-China, where there are now at disposal 3 brigades of troops in actual existence, with a reserve brigade. The approximate strength of the native forces in the colony is as follows: