History of French SOF???

[Salonen]

Nowadays the French Army's SOF are 1 RPIMa, 13 RDP and an army helicopter unit. It has been like that since 2002 when BFST was formed.

1 RPIMa started in the early 1960'es as a training regiment. From around the middle of the 1970'es they create a "Groupement Operationnel" to conduct SOF operations. But it is first in 1990'es after the creating of COS that 1 RPIMa becomes a SOF unit as a whole.

13 RDP are from 1963 a intel/recon unit. In 2002 it bomes part of BFST.

So what were the SOF units of the French Army before 1 RPIMa formed their "GO"?

French intelligence had a unit/regiment called 11 Choc from 1946-63 and 1985-93. Were they also the SOF of the French Army?

Looking forward hearing from all.

[mas-36]

Some of the French members might want to correct me if I am in error, but generally speaking, I believe most of France's SOF forces can trace their origins back to the WW 2 era, where their forefathers fought as members of either the Commandos and/or SAS. If I'm not mistaken, the 3rd and 4th SAS were French during WW2 and formed the nucleus of the postwar Para units in French armed forces. If they're not SOF, then they're certainly considered elite.

[Galileo]

The 11eme Choc was not a SF regiment, it was the covert operation regiment of the french DGSE.
They operate more like the Delta than military regiment (long hair, most of the time in civilian cloth, ...).

You heard only about them when there is an incident but never when the mission is completed:
During the French - Libyan 'war' in chad in the mid 80, a team was annihilated (near the extraction point) by Libyan after a conclusive mission depth in Libyan territory.
Greenpeace Raibow Warrior in 1985 (the diver team witch put the 2 bombs on the ship was from the 11RPC and never been caught).
Ouvea (new Caledonia, 1988) 2 members of the regiment were kill by separatist during the assault of a cave by GIGN and 11RPC team.

[filochard]

Hi,
That more or less started in WWI but was formalized just before WWII with the Corps Franc.
Read David Lehmann post there http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=127168&highlight=corps+francs

[JJHH]

Some of the French members might want to correct me if I am in error, but generally speaking, I believe most of France's SOF forces can trace their origins back to the WW 2 era, where their forefathers fought as members of either the Commandos and/or SAS. If I'm not mistaken, the 3rd and 4th SAS were French during WW2 and formed the nucleus of the postwar Para units in French armed forces. If they're not SOF, then they're certainly considered elite.

Do not forget the Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action (BCRA) and its Jedburghs.

[Salonen]

Corps franc, French SAS, Jedburghs, all WW 2.

So what were the French Army SOF units after WW 2, until 1 RPIMa created its "GO"?

There must have been some kind of Army SOF unit, or what?