Abstract: France is currently one of the leading players in the global arms market. Its MIC is capable of producing various types of military technology, while its order portfolio amounts to billions. The government plays a major role in this trade and treats arms sales as a valuable political vector. This article expands on the essence of French approach towards arms exports and explores its key principles and priorities. The work touches on such characteristic traits as regional sales structure. The work is structured on case-study methods, with utilization of comparative historical analysis. It starts with general positions relied upon by the French government in its arms exports policy, then their practical implementation on the example of Near East Arab countries (the region with the most of its MIC clients). The authors determined that French policy regarding arms exports is based on at least two theses: 10 arms exports is an additional source of revenue for the military industry of the country; 20 sales of military technology can help establish relations with other countries.

Abstract: The role of France and its foreign policies in one of the most volatile regions of the world, the Persian Gulf, constitutes the subject of this study. The authors discover the interests which the Fifth Republic pursues in the Gulf, spotlight the advantageous and vulnerable aspects of French diplomacy in the said field. The study covers the dominant French perception of the Gulf as a "crossroads space", strategically crucial for the security of France and Europe a whole. The major competitors of the Fifth Republic which challenge France in order to preserve their interests are also defined. Methodologically, the study's foundation is laid by the principle of regionalism - a way of defining a region as a self-sufficient unity with its defining specific traits. This explains the fact that the article does not only study the relations between France and each single country of the Gulf, but rather its approach to the region as a whole. The foreign policy of the Fifth Republic is studied as an integrated entity, combining military and non-military leverage. The method of comparison allowed to weight the resources of France against the potential of competing players. Concluding their analysis, the authors would define France as a "transitory" player in the region. French diplomacy has several channels of influence in the Gulf area, but it lacks the resources to establish itself as an undisputed leader (while pushing aside other major forces, such as the USA).

Abstract: This article reveals the key regularities in establishment of the modern French navy. First and foremost, the author indicates the provisions of the doctrine of Gaullism, which served as an ideological and political foundation for the foreign and military policy of France during the first decades after the World War II that remained relevant furthermore. Based on them, the work determines the peculiarities of French naval construction since the presidency of Charles de Gaulle until the end of the “cold war”, following with the amendments introduced into the naval policy of France in realities of the post-bipolar world. The utmost research accent is made on the tasks faced throughout various timeframes by the naval forces, as well as means and methods for their solution. In conclusion, the author specifies the general trends that characterize the French navy over a span of recent decades, which most likely will be observed during the presidency of Emmanuel Macron. Particularly, the author underlines the focus on the naval component of nuclear deterrence, multifunctionality of the newest sea vehicles, collaboration with the European Union and NATO partners in establishment of the naval forces and their deployment.