“A recently published RAND study of French army operations in Mali in 2013 noted that in many ways, France’s army epitomizes the characteristics General Odierno and General Milley have highlighted.”

http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR700/RR770/RAND_RR770.pdf

Cited with authority in:

http://ndupress.ndu.edu/JFQ/Joint-Force-Quarterly-82/Article/793271/what-it-means-to-be-expeditionary-a-look-at-the-french-army-in-africa/