Frédéric Marie, defence photojournalist

Frédéric Marie, known by the byline Fred Marie, is a French journalist, photojournalist and author specialising in the armed forces, military institutions and contemporary conflicts. He has been documenting the military for more than fifteen years, both in France and on operations, and he is the founder and editor-in-chief of Défense Zone, a media outlet and publishing house dedicated to defence and security. He is also the founder of the press agency Collectif DR and has been a Fujifilm X Ambassador since 2015.

Work centred on the soldier’s profession

Frédéric Marie’s work focuses less on equipment than on the men and women who use it. His long-term projects examine how military institutions shape individuals, build collective identities and prepare for combat. Between war zones, training camps and remote theatres of operations, his photography focuses on the human experience behind military power: discipline, endurance, fear, belonging, and the fragile distance between preparation and the test of fire.

One question runs through all his work: how is a soldier made, and what remains of that making when it meets the reality of war?

Fieldwork and reports

His reporting has taken him across France, to the Sahel, Djibouti, French Guiana, Estonia, the Arctic and Ukraine. Among the subjects he has covered in the field:

  • Operation Barkhane (Mali, Niger): Kidal, Ansongo, the Adrar des Ifoghas, the legionnaires of the 2e REP (2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment) and the Chimère detachment of the 8e RPIMa (8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment).
  • French Foreign Legion: Aubagne and the Camerone celebrations, the white kepi march at Puyloubier, the CEFE in French Guiana.
  • Airborne troops: the 11th Parachute Brigade, the ETAP (Airborne Troops School) in Pau, the commando paratroopers groups (GCP), the 14 July parade.
  • Special forces: the 4e RHFS (4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment), the SOFINS exhibition, heliborne manoeuvres and dog teams.
  • Internal security: the GIGN (the Gendarmerie’s elite intervention unit) in Toulouse and French Polynesia, the RAID during the G7 summit in Biarritz.
  • Mountain troops: the French Military High Mountain School (EMHM) in Chamonix, the Military High Mountain Group (GMHM), the Mountain Commando Group, the PGHM (Gendarmerie high mountain rescue unit) on the Argentière glacier.
  • French Navy: the frigate Courbet, the amphibious helicopter carriers, helicopter-winched divers.
  • French Air and Space Force: the Niamey air base (Mirage 2000, C-160 Transall, A400M, Reaper drone), the flight over Rangiroa atoll.
  • French Guiana: the Equatorial Forest Training Centre (CEFE), Operation Harpie against illegal gold mining, the Maroni river, the Kourou space centre.
  • Djibouti: the Grand Bara desert, the commando course, the “voie de l’Inconscient”.
  • Mission Lynx in Estonia, with Leclerc tanks and the French Foreign Legion.
  • International Military Pilgrimage to Lourdes.

Bibliography

Frédéric Marie is the author of photo books, reference works and professional handbooks.

Photo books

  • Légionnaires — 176 pages on the French Foreign Legion, its men, training and traditions. From Castelnaudary to Mali, by way of Estonia, the United States, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic and Haiti. Foreword by General Burkhard, Chief of the Defence Staff. Co-authored with a second photographer specialising in defence.
  • Paras — the life of a soldier of the 11th Parachute Brigade, from recruitment to operations.
  • À l’école des soldats de montagne (At the school of mountain soldiers) — 208 illustrated pages devoted to the French Military High Mountain School in Chamonix.

DZ Essentials collection

  • La Légion étrangère (The French Foreign Legion) — history, organisation, traditions and operational deployments.
  • Les troupes parachutistes (Paratroopers) — nearly a century of French paratrooper history.
  • Les Forces Spéciales (The special forces) — history, missions, structures and men of the French elite units.
  • Reporter de guerre (War reporter) — a field handbook on the work of a reporter in conflict zones, with a foreword by Patrick Chauvel.

Other books

Défense Zone and Collectif DR

Frédéric Marie founded Défense Zone, a French media outlet dedicated to defence, the armed forces and international security. Défense Zone publishes a quarterly magazine, a podcast of interviews with military personnel, members of law enforcement and specialists, and a news website with more than 800 articles. He is its editor-in-chief.

He also runs Collectif DR, a photographic press agency that brings together more than 70 photographers based all over the world and supports independent documentary practice.

Awards, teaching and publications

  • Winner of the Sergent Sébastien-Vermeille prize, the French Army photography prize awarded by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, in 2019.
  • Official Fujifilm X Ambassador since 2015.
  • Lecturer in photojournalism at Sciences Po Toulouse, from which he himself graduated (class of 2013).
  • His photographs and reports have been published in Le Monde, Paris Match, VSD, Le Figaro, The Guardian, Stern and National Geographic.

Where to see his work

Frequently asked questions

Who is Frédéric Marie?

Frédéric Marie is a French journalist, photojournalist and author specialising in defence issues. He has been documenting the armed forces for more than fifteen years and founded the media outlet Défense Zone and the press agency Collectif DR.

What books has he written?

He is the author of the photo books Légionnaires (with a foreword by General Burkhard), Paras and À l’école des soldats de montagne, of the DZ Essentials reference works on the French Foreign Legion, paratroopers and special forces, of the handbook Reporter de guerre with a foreword by Patrick Chauvel, and of Il ne faut pas être sorti de Saint-Cyr and Qui ose gagne.

Where has he worked in the field?

He has photographed the French armed forces in France, in the Sahel during Operation Barkhane, in Djibouti, in French Guiana, in Estonia during Mission Lynx, in the Arctic and in Ukraine.

What are his specialist areas?

The French Foreign Legion, airborne troops, special forces, mountain troops, internal security (GIGN, RAID), the French Navy, the French Air and Space Force, and the profession of war reporter, which he teaches.