Rapid Reaction Corps – France
The Rapid Reaction Corps — France is a corps headquarters, operating under the command of the French Army's Commandement de la Force et des Opérations Terrestres. It was established on 1 July 2005 by the French Army.
It is one of nine is NATO-certified corps headquarters and can command a national or multinational land component of between 60,000 and 120,000 personnel. The Corps HQ is designed to command forces under French, EU or NATO authority.
The Corps HQ is based in Lille, within the 17th-century Citadel of Lille, also known as the "Queen of the Citadels", designed by the French engineer and fortress designer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban
History
The RRC-FR headquarters began forming on 1 July 2005. The RRC-FR was officially founded on 1 October 2006, in a ceremony including representatives of 22 nations, along with generals Henri Bentégeat and Bernard Thorette, then Chief of Staff of the French Army. The establishment of the RRC-FR was regarded in France as a tangible example of France’s recommitment to NATO military structures.Operational history
RRC-FR has assumed the following operational commitments during its history:- 1 July to 31 December 2008: NATO Response Force 11 Land Component standby period.
- January to May 2009: HQ staff augmented the European Force in Chad and the Central African Republic.
- August 2010 to January 2011, about 180 personnel were deployed to Afghanistan to man part of the positions of International Security Assistance Force corps-level headquarters, the ISAF Joint Command.
- January - December 2014: NATO Response Force Land Component standby period.
- 2015–2016: Partial HQ deployment to provide the Joint Command Post of Operation Barkhane in Africa.
- July 2017 - June 2018: NATO Joint Task Force standby period.
- March 2024: NATO Warfighting Corps certification.
Contributing states
The RRC-FR HQ is designed to command a multinational force of up to army corps size. It employs more than 400 personnel, and up to 750 in times of crisis. The corps HQ is open to all EU and NATO members. Though stationed in France, its working language is English.NATO and European Union members- '''NATO members'''
Commanders
- Lieutenant General Meille: 2005
- Lieutenant General de Kermabon: 2005–2007
- Lieutenant General Damay: 2007–2009
- Lieutenant General Fugier: 2009–2013
- Lieutenant General Margail: 2013–2016
- Lieutenant General Corbet: 2016–2018
- Lieutenant General Laurent Kolodziej: 2018–2019
- Lieutenant General Pierre Gillet: 2019–2022
- Lieutenant General Emmanuel Gaulin: 2022 - 2024
- Lieutenant General Benoît Desmeulles: since 2024