On this page:

• Summary
• Military capability
• Military Cooperation with Australia

Summary

In the division of responsibility between the French state and the Government of New Caledonia, France is responsible for the National Gendarmerie (the police) and the French Armed Forces in New Caledonia (FANC).

The FANC protects the French territory and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), as well as offering limited humanitarian assistance/disaster response (HA/DR), emergency service, and firefighting capabilities.

With approximately 3,000 military personnel in the region (mostly split between New Caledonia and French Polynesia), France is the only European country with the capacity to make a substantial security contribution to the Pacific. Since December 1992, French forces have collaborated under the FRANZ agreement with Australia and New Zealand to help coordinate the delivery of HA/DR to Pacific Island states after events like cyclones and earthquakes.

France’s 2018 Indo-Pacific Strategy articulated Paris’ plan to increase its influence in the region by strengthening security, economic, and environmental partnerships. During a visit to New Caledonia in July 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the establishment of a military academy to serve as a regional security/law enforcement training centre. He also announced up to 200 additional personnel and EUR150 million in funding for FANC equipment, infrastructure and capabilities. France wants to maintain a hold over its overseas territories as operational hubs at a time when China is gaining influence in the region by offering Pacific nations generous economic incentives. However, prolonged civil unrest in New Caledonia is threatening France’s strategic agenda by refocusing its attention on the issue of independence. Many nations in the region have grappled with their own colonial past and have been critical of France’s response to local desire for self-determination. 

France has recently intensified its military cooperation in the Indo‑Pacific, participating in a range of exercises with regional partners including Australia, New Zealand, India, the United States and Japan to enhance interoperability and multilateral security ties. For example, in September 2023, France and Japan conducted the Brunet‑Takamori 2023 joint land exercise in New Caledonia, involving around 350 FANC and 50 Japanese troops, strengthening defence cooperation between the two nations.

Military Capability

The FANC consists of an Army, Navy, and Air Force, with official French Ministry of Defence figures listing the FANC as having about 1,650 military and civilian Defence personnel in New Caledonia. Reflecting France’s ‘expeditionary’ defence posture in the region, a portion of this footprint is a rotational force deployed every 4-6 months from France. This helps soldiers accustomed to France’s metropolitan operating environment train for amphibious, jungle and expeditionary operations.

The Navy operates from the Pointe Chaleix Naval Base in Noumea and includes several medium and small vessels which focus on maritime surveillance, fisheries protection and enforcement of the EEZ. FANC’s Air Force, operating from Tontouta Air Base in Noumea, provides tactical mobility, logistics support, and a search-and-rescue capability.

The National Gendarmerie is a paramilitary branch of the armed forces with dual law-enforcement and security roles. They are tasked primarily with internal security, public order management, general policing and criminal investigations across the territory, and historically maintains about 850 personnel. They are interoperable with the FANC, especially when responding to major security challenges in the territory.

Military Cooperation with Australia

Like the bilateral relationship itself, military cooperation between France and Australia suffered when Australia cancelled a $90 billion contract to purchase French attack submarines in favour of the AUKUS security partnership with Britain and the US. However, the relationship has improved since Australia paid an $830 million settlement to French defence contractor Naval Group in 2022. Now, both countries cooperate on illegal fishing, transnational crime, and HA/DR. In late 2020, defence ties were strengthened further with the establishment of a new Australian Defence Force Liaison Officer to FANC.

FANC have since participated in EX PITCH BLACK, KAKADU, and TALISMAN SABRE. They also deployed to Tonga alongside Australian and Fijian forces on OPERATION TONGA ASSIST 22. 

The FANC hosts and leads the biennial exercise Croix Du Sud which brings together over 3000 personnel from 19 countries to enhance HA/DR and crisis response coordination. Australia was the second largest contributor to the exercise in 2023.

For further information on New Caledonia’s security, see the resources below:

Video

1. New Caledonia key to France's diplomatic and military strategy • FRANCE 24 English

Podcast

1. Franconesia and Au revoir (Statecraftiness, 38m)

Articles

1. Reframing the French Indo-Pacific: New Caledonia, How to Overcome the Geopolitical Impasse? (The Diplomat)
2. One year, three agreements: shaping thinking on regional security (DevPolicy Blog)
3. Maritime mentor makes a difference (Defence Australia)
4. Penny Wong says Vanuatu security deal will be made public unlike China-Solomons agreement (The Guardian)
5. Australia and France take part in huge military exercise after tense couple of years – ABC News
6. Australian government agrees to pay $835 million to French submarine contractor Naval Group over cancelled contract – ABC News

Revised February 2026