“France Libre”: Emmanuel Macron svela il nome della futura portaerei francese che succederà alla Charles de Gaulle nel 2038

>The head of state announced this Wednesday that the future aircraft carrier will be named “France Libre”. It is scheduled to enter service in 2038.

>This is a question that has given rise to much speculation in recent months. What will the future next-generation aircraft carrier (PA-NG) be named? Emmanuel Macron put an end to the suspense this Wednesday by announcing that the successor to the Charles de Gaulle will bear the name “France Libre” (Free France).

>”I wanted to place our future aircraft carrier in the lineage of General de Gaulle. (…) That is why our new aircraft carrier will bear the name ‘Free France’,” the President announced during [a visit to the Naval Group shipyard in Indre, near Nantes,](https://www.bfmtv.com/politique/elysee/emmanuel-macron-sera-en-deplacement-mercredi-sur-le-chantier-du-prochain-porte-avions-francais_AD-202603130924.html) where the future vessel of the French Navy is being built. The ship is scheduled to enter service in 2038 at an estimated cost of approximately 10 billion euros. “This investment by the nation in its independence and sovereignty creates jobs in France and develops skills in France,” the President added.

>Weighing 80,000 tons and measuring approximately 310 meters in length, it will be [significantly larger than the Charles de Gaulle](https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/entreprises/defense/plus-grand-dote-de-catapultes-electromagnetiques-a-quoi-ressemblera-le-futur-porte-avions-francais_AV-202512210290.html) (42,000 tons and 261 meters). These dimensions will allow it to accommodate a crew of 2,000 sailors and carry 30 combat aircraft, including Rafales and NGFs (the fighter jet at the heart of the SCAF program, assuming the project comes to fruition), as well as a Hawkeye radar aircraft, helicopters, drones (for combat or reconnaissance), and defense systems (missile defenses, machine guns, cannons, etc.). All of this will be achieved without compromising its maximum speed of 27 knots (50 km/h), the same as the Charles de Gaulle.

>**Work has already begun in Cherbourg**

>In development since 2018, the new aircraft carrier project reached a first milestone two years later with the launch of studies enabling the start of engineering and design work. Emmanuel Macron finally announced the official start of construction last December, even though the welding of the first steel plates for the containment structures of the two nuclear reactors of the PA-NG actually began in Cherbourg as early as September.

>Like the Charles de Gaulle, the next-generation aircraft carrier will be nuclear-powered thanks to two onboard reactors that eliminate the need for refueling. This propulsion system also powers all onboard equipment, including the catapults used to launch Rafale fighter jets.

>The advantage offered by nuclear propulsion is all the more significant given that France, along with the United States, is currently the only country to possess an aircraft carrier using this propulsion method. Other countries equipped with vessels capable of deploying aircraft and helicopters have conventionally powered ships (China and India) or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft carriers.

>China, with its fourth aircraft carrier, this time nuclear-powered, is expected to join France and the United States by 2040. Italy has also [announced its intention to acquire a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier](https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/entreprises/defense/100-000-tonnes-de-diplomatie-pourquoi-l-italie-veut-rejoindre-la-france-et-les-etats-unis-dans-le-club-tres-ferme-des-pays-qui-ont-un-porte-avion-nucleaire_AN-202506100545.html) by the same time.

>Beyond its size, the PA-NG, designed to serve until 2080, will distinguish itself from the Charles de Gaulle by its electromagnetic catapults, a modern aircraft launch technology (of American design) currently possessed only by the United States and, more [recently](https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/entreprises/defense/symbole-de-la-rivalite-navale-avec-les-etats-unis-la-chine-a-mis-en-service-son-troisieme-porte-avions_AD-202511070207.html) , China . More efficient than the current steam catapult system, the EMALS-type electromagnetic catapults offer a more compact system and the ability to even more precisely adjust the launch power of the fighter jets, which accelerate from 0 to 250 km/h in 75 meters (the length of the Charles de Gaulle’s flight deck).

>**An “essential ability to project power from the sea”**

>But does France really need a new aircraft carrier? While some question the value of this type of ship, sometimes deemed unsuitable for new threats (drones, cyber…), General Mandon, Chief of the Defence Staff, assured the National Assembly last October [that “the ability to project power from the sea” was “essential”](https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/entreprises/defense/ce-serait-le-prelude-a-un-declassement-certain-de-la-france-sur-la-scene-internationale-pourquoi-la-france-a-besoin-d-un-nouveau-porte-avions-a-10-milliards-d-euros_AV-202512230022.html) for France, which has the second largest exclusive economic zone in the world (10.9 million km2).

>However, the Charles de Gaulle is supposed to reach the end of its life in 2038, 37 years after it entered service, even though one of the provisions of the 2024-2030 Military Programming Law provides that a study “on the cost and viability of maintaining it in service after 2040” will be presented to Parliament in 2028.

>In any case, “failing to invest in building a successor to the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle would indeed be the prelude to a certain decline of France on the international stage,” asserted a Senate report in 2020, recalling that the aircraft carrier is “a major factor in strategic autonomy.” “Along with nuclear deterrence, it contributes to making France a leading diplomatic and military power,” the report stated.

Kinda seems like a weird name. 

Je trouve qu’il aurait pu trouver mieux comme nom.

Name is boring. Should have gone with “La Grosse Baguette”.
Much more impressive.

I like the idea, but the name could probably have been better. It’s a nice change from ex president names and adjectives.

But in those times, maybe it’s good to remind everyone that a strong army is not just to invade, it’s also to protect your freedom.

So, I don’t mind the name. Go Europe.

I would have stayed with the working title, with an extra exclamation mark.

PA-NG!

Remember the meme that go “that bad boy fire 1000 round of freedom per minute” and drop “1000 ton of pure democracy”?

Now we can litterally said we send 100000 ton of freedom on your way.

Anagram: Le “Cran Fébrile”

Who gives a fuck about the name, the real question is why Macron is one of only a handful of people taking Europe and its defense seriously?

Why does it feel like France is the only country taking any of this shit seriously?

Parce que c’est notre PROJEEEEEEET

I like the name. It acknowledges a large and somewhat diverse group of people instead of obscurring them with big names and avoids developing a cult around one single person.

Not great… It sounds Frexit

Kind of a deviation from the tradition of naming aircraft carriers after military and/or political leaders (de Gaulle, Foch, Clemenceau).