List of Saint-Cyr promotions

Beginning in 1829, every class (promotion) of the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr has chosen a name. It can be a nickname (du Firmament, "of the Stars", for the first one); the anniversary of a famous battle, like the Centenaire de Camerone for the 1962–1964 class; a current event, like Sevastopol for the 1855–1856 class; or the name of a famous soldier or general like Bayard for 1923–1925 class or Général Louis Charles Antoine Desaix for the 2024–2027 class. Often this commemorates the recent death of a notable Saint-Cyrian like Maréchal Juin (promotion de Fès, 1909–1912) who died in 1967 and whose name was adopted by the 1966–1968 class, or Général Leclerc (promotion de Metz et Strasbourg, 1922–1924), who died in 1947 and whose name was adopted by the 1946–1948 class. Generally, when a class is named after a person, that person is dead. Only two classes were named after a living person: Jean-Baptiste Marchand (1898–1900) and Philippe Pétain (1940–1942).^[1][2]

From the mid 19th-century there was a trend for classes to take names inspired by the French colonies. During this time the Troupes de marine and Troupes coloniales were seen as more prestigious than the metropolitan army and graduating cadets often chose to serve in these branches (previously these branches had been unpopular and often took the lowest ranked cadets of each year). Half of all class names between the 1870s and the start of the First World War had colonial roots.^[3]

Since 1982, schooling lasts for three years, and the name of the promotion is chosen at the end of the first year (3rd Battalion), before entry into the second year (2nd Battalion). The battalion proposes several names to the Chief of Staff of the French Army, who makes the selection, but the battalion commander, a regular officer, is often influential in providing advice, opinions, ideas, or proposals.^[1][2] The symbology section of the Defence Historical Service (SHD) in Vincennes is also consulted on the choice of name. The process is not foolproof; in 2018 the army had to reverse itself over naming the 2016–2019 class after General Georges Loustaunau-Lacau, a hero of the Second World War, but also a notorious antisemite, after a public outcry.^[4][5] The SHD had raised concerns over the selection of this name for a class but had been overruled. The process has now been reformed so that the SHD carries out in depth research into the namesakes proposed.^[4]

Saint-Cyr closed on 2 August 1914 due to the outbreak of World War I. In April 1915, it became the Centre d’Instruction d’Élèves Aspirants (CIEA) (Training Center for Officer Cadets), which was closed in November 1918. The CIEA trained four wartime classes: des Drapeaux et de l'Amitié Américaine (1916–1917), de Sainte Odile (1917–1918), La Fayette (1917–1918) and Victoire (1918–1920). In June 1940, with the German Army bearing down on Paris, the school left its original site at the Saint-Cyr-l'École and never returned. From November 1940 to November 1942, the school was located in Aix-en-Provence alongside the École Militaire d’Infanterie (Infantry School), and two promotions came from there: Charles de Foucauld (1941–1942) and Maréchal Pétain (1940–1942).^[1]

Meanwhile, Général de brigade Charles de Gaulle (promotion de Fès, 1909–1912) created the Military School of Cadets of Free France in the autumn of 1940. Initially located at Rake Manor, near Milford, Surrey, it subsequently moved to Malvern, Worcestershire, and then to Ribbesford Castle, where it was dissolved on 15 June 1944. Under Law No. 54-292 of 18 March 1954, former students who have passed the exit examinations are considered, in all respects, to have graduated from Saint-Cyr. The school produced five promotions: Liberation (June 1942), Bir Hakeim (December 1942), Fezzan-Tunisia (June 1943), Corsica and Savoy (December 1943) and 18 June (June 1944).^[1]

Saint-Cyr was dissolved when the Germans invaded the zone libre in November 1942 and re-created in Algeria on 15 December 1942, as the École d’Élèves Aspirants de Cherchell (Cherchell School of Officer Cadets), which was renamed the École Militaire Interarmes (Joint Military School) on 13 December 1944. Three promotions came from there: Croix de Provence (1942), Veille au Drapeau (1943) and Rome [fr; it] et Strasbourg (1944).||^[1]

After the war French Army officers of the Maréchal Pétain promotion raised concerns over their namesake, the collaborationist Philippe Pétain, but were advised by Charles de Gaulle that the naming was a historic moment in the life of a cadet and should not be altered thereafter.^[6]