Outside of NATO, France has actively and heavily participated in a variety of peacekeeping/coalition efforts in Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans, often taking the lead in these operations. France has undertaken a major restructuring to develop a professional military that will be smaller, more rapidly deployable and better tailored for operations outside of mainland France. Key elements of the restructuring include reducing personnel, bases, and headquarters and rationalizing equipment and the armament industry. French active-duty military in June 2007 numbered about 350,000 (including Gendarmes), of which nearly 34,000 were deployed outside of French territory. France completed the move to all-professional armed forces when conscription ended on December 31, 2002.
France places a high priority on arms control <ref>[http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/11/10/151219.shtml French Arms Sales to China]</ref> and non-proliferation. After conducting a final series of six nuclear tests, the French signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996. France has implemented a moratorium on the production, export, and use of anti-personnel landmines and supports negotiations leading toward a universal ban. France is an active participant in the major supplier regimes designed to restrict transfer of technologies that could lead to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group (for chemical and biological weapons), the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the Missile Technology Control Regime. France participates actively in the Proliferation Security Initiative, and is engaged with the U.S., both bilaterally and at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), to curb nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) proliferation from the D.P.R.K., Iran, Libya, and elsewhere. France has joined with the U.S., Germany, and the other three permanent members of the UN Security Council to offer a package of incentives and disincentives to Iran to halt its uranium enrichment activities. France has also signed and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention. France maintains a color-coded security system, similar to that of the U.S., consisting of yellow, orange, red and scarlet threat levels.
At least 12 French soldiers have been killed in [[Afghanistan]] during [[Operation Enduring Freedom]] since its inception in 2001.<ref>Anon., [http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10651794&CFID=10819516&CFTOKEN=58cc719e037c97de-2515EEEE-B27C-BB00-012942FB89A6CFE4 Where the sniping has to stop] ''The Economist'', 7th February, 2008.</ref>
Unrest in France by Moslem immigrants has resulted in destruction of property.<ref>[http://www.anncoulter.com/cgi-local/printer_friendly.cgi?article=333 Ann Coulter, October 7, 2009]</ref>
==Economy==