The strong and long-standing cooperation between the Finnish Defence Forces and the French Armed Forces continues. The French Chief of Defence, General Fabien Mandon’s visit to Finland on 1-2 June 2026 is hosted by the Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, General Janne Jaakkola.
The visit includes conversations on joint training and operations and on developing defence cooperation. The programme includes an address by the generals to the French Institute for Higher National Defence Studies, which is currently visiting Finland, as well as visits to the Finnish Border Guard and the Hybrid Centre of Excellence.
During the last few years, the focus of cooperation between Finland and France has increasingly shifted toward training and exercise activities in Finland, where interoperability, training and operational cooperation between Allies and Finnish forces is further improved and developed. Units of the French Army have actively participated in Finnish exercises since Exercise Cold Response in the spring. Exercise Northern Star, which lasted until the end of May, offered a concrete example of the cooperation, with French battalions training together with Finnish units in the variable conditions of the North.
Finnish peacekeepers have served in the French-led Force Commander’s Reserve (FCR) in UNIFIL in Lebanon since 2017. Last year, they were afforded the rare honour of participating in the French National Day parade among the first units, which highlighted the skills and expertise of Finnish peacekeepers and the importance of long-term cooperation.
