French Forces of the Interior

French Forces of the Interior Forces françaises de l'intérieur
The Cross of Lorraine on the flag of the 2nd company, 1st battalion, FFI Finistere. It was founded by a group of French Scouts who joined the French Resistance in June 1940. The group carried out intelligence missions and the repatriations of allied airmen. In February 1944 it became part of the FFI and participated in the liberation of Quimper on August 8, 1944.
Active	1944–1945
Country	France
Allegiance	French Army
Type	Paramilitary Irregular military
Size	400,000 by October 1944
Garrison/HQ	Occupied France and Liberated France
Equipment	French, British, American
Engagements	World War II
Commanders
Notable commanders	Marie-Pierre Kœnig

The French Forces of the Interior (FFI; French: Forces françaises de l'Intérieur) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation of these groups to FFI occurred as France's status changed from that of an occupied nation to one of a nation being liberated by the Allied armies. As regions of France were liberated, the FFI were more formally organized into light infantry units and served as a valuable manpower addition to regular Free French forces. In this role, the FFI units manned less active areas of the front lines, allowing regular French army units to practice economy of force measures and mass their troops in decisive areas of the front. Finally, from October 1944 and with the greater part of France liberated, the FFI units were amalgamated into the French regular forces continuing the fight on the Western Front, thus ending the era of the French irregulars in World War II.