ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the evolution of French military operations in the post-Cold-War era and discusses their role in the achievement of the French grand strategic objectives. The same problems appeared for the army, and the French division was made of several already professionalised battalions drawn from various regiments. While the French forces were still learning the lessons from the Gulf War, they were quickly engaged in a peacekeeping operation in the Balkans. The intense urban fighting that occurred between 16 and 18 June was considered a tactical success but generated a number of frustrations for France. An important trend for French military operations in the post-Cold-War era has been the discovery of coalition warfare, first during the Gulf War, but mostly through the interventions in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria/Iraq. France played an active, albeit sometimes confusing role during the 1999 Kosovo crisis.
