Lieutenant-General (France)

Lieutenant-Général (French: Lieutenant-Général) in France, was a title and rank across various military and security institutions with history dating back well beyond the 18th century. The official historic succession of the "Lieutenant-Général of France" corresponded to Général de division for the French Army, and Vice-Amiral (Vice-Admiral) for the French Navy.

While the French Navy's equivalent of a Lieutenant General is a Vice-Admiral, the equivalent of today's Lieutenant-Général in the French Armed Forces would be partially that of Général de corps d'armée (French: Général de corps d'armée), such was due to the fact that the concept of an Army Corps (French: Corps d'Armée) wasn't adopted first until 19 November 1873, by a Presidential Decree, and the actual rank of Général de corps d'armée was not officially formed until a Law Decree on 6 June 1939.

For the French Army and French Navy during the Ancien Régime, the rank corresponded to Lieutenant Général des armées ("Lieutenant-General of the Armies") for land forces, and to Lieutenant général des Armées navales ("Lieutenant-General of the Naval Armies") for the Navy. Originally, two positions were created, one for the Levant Fleet in 1652 and one for the Flotte du Ponant in 1654.