Country dossier · FRA

France

Leading space power

A sourced snapshot of France's posture in space — capability, institutions, orbital assets, law and people. Every figure carries its primary source; gaps are shown honestly, never filled with invented data.

Open France in the interactive workspace →

Capability tier

Leading space power

Launches to orbit from its own territory: yesLaunch sites on record: 2Nationals who have flown: 11

Source: ALL IN SPACE capability ladder · see methodology

Space agency

CNES

National space agency · established 1961 · two-source verified

Source: UNOOSA · Worldwide Space Agencies directory

Satellites (owner state)

146

Counted from the GCAT May 2026 snapshot. The interactive workspace shows a live CelesTrak figure, which uses different owner-attribution rules and will differ.

Source: GCAT · General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (J. McDowell) · May 2026 snapshot

Ground stations

17

Source: ALL IN SPACE curated ground-station dataset (operator-sourced)

Space budget

$4.1B

Major spender · 2026 · CNES

Source: CNES

National strategy

Stratégie nationale spatiale 2025-2040 (National Space Strategy 2025-2040) (2025)

EUR 1.5 billion investment plan structured around five axes covering autonomous access, constellations, sovereignty and research

Source: Published national space strategies and policies

International space law

InstrumentStatus
Outer Space Treaty 1967Ratified
Rescue Agreement 1968Ratified
Liability Convention 1972Ratified
Registration Convention 1975Ratified
Moon Agreement 1979Signed only
Artemis Accords 2020Signatory (2022-06-07)

Source: Status of international agreements relating to activities in outer space (1 January 2026)

Launch sites

  • Centre Spatial Guyanais (Guiana Space Centre)CNES with ESA and Arianespace · Kourou, French Guiana · orbital · since 1968
  • Centre d'Essais des Landes (Biscarrosse)DGA / French Ministry of Armed Forces · Biscarrosse, Landes · suborbital · since 1962

Source: National launch site roster · ALL IN SPACE compilation

Astronauts

  • Jean-Loup ChretienCNES / Soviet space program · first flight 1982 · First Frenchman and first Western European in space
  • Patrick BaudryCNES / NASA · first flight 1985
  • Michel TogniniCNES / ESA · first flight 1992
  • Jean-Pierre HaignereCNES / ESA · first flight 1993
  • Jean-Francois ClervoyESA · first flight 1994
  • Jean-Jacques FavierCNES / NASA · first flight 1996
  • Claudie HaignereCNES / ESA · first flight 1996 · First French woman in space
  • Leopold EyhartsCNES / ESA · first flight 1998
  • Philippe PerrinCNES / ESA · first flight 2002
  • Thomas PesquetESA · first flight 2016 · Commanded ISS Expedition 65
  • Sophie AdenotESA · first flight 2022 · Selected 2022; assigned to ISS 2026

Source: Astronaut biographies

Milestones

  • 1961CNES established
  • 1962First orbital launch from national soil
  • 1982First national in space

Notable missions and contributions

  • Ariane 6 (heavy-lift launcher; inaugural flight VA262 on 9 July 2024 restored Europe's independent access to space after Ariane 5's retirement; first commercial flight VA263 on 6 March 2025 orbited France's CSO-3 military optical reconnaissance satellite; operational)
  • Spot Earth observation series
  • CoRoT exoplanet mission
  • SWOT ocean monitoring (NASA-CNES)
  • CSO-3 (Composante Spatiale Optique) military optical reconnaissance satellite for the DGA, launched 6 March 2025 by Ariane 6 (VA263) into sun-synchronous orbit at ~800 km, completing France's three-satellite CSO observation constellation