Winning the War: The Role of Technology
ABCD 2026
Benoît Desmeulles
Commander of the 1st Army Corps
Lieutenant General Benoît Desmeulles has commanded the Rapid Reaction Corps – France (CRR-Fr) since 6 September 2024, the formation having officially become the 1st French Corps on 1 January 2026; he was promoted to his current rank on 30 August that year. He joined SHAPE as the French national military representative on 1 August 2023, having commanded the 11th Parachute Brigade from 1 August 2021. From 2020 to 2021, he was assigned to the Chief of Staff of the French Army, responsible for implementing his strategic vision, and from 2018 to 2020, he led the planning and execution of information manoeuvre operations at the CPCO. Posted to London within the General Staff in 2014, he served first as Liaison Officer and then as Military Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the British Army. He commanded the 2e Régiment étranger de parachutistes (2e REP) from 2012 to 2014, deploying the regiment to Mali in 2013 to lead airborne operations. Earlier, he commanded a battalion of the Special Military School and then the Directorate of Military Training at the Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan Schools, following the senior staff course in January 2005 and the Joint Defence College (13th promotion). He was assigned to the CPCO in 2002. Entering Saint-Cyr in 1989, he joined the 2e REP in Calvi in 1993, commanding the Parachute Commando Platoon and the 4th Company. He has deployed to Bosnia, Congo, Chad, Zaire, the Central African Republic, Afghanistan, and Mali.
Updated: August 12, 2026