In 1967, the French government acquired the collections of Raoul et Jean Brunon through an intermediary of the Military Museum of Paris.

The collection were transferred to Salon-de-Provence, where they were used to build a municipal museum before being moved to the château of Empéri, which dominates the city centre.

The entrance to the museum is in the ancient chapel that leads to the reception hall of the château.

The collections occupy around 30 of the rooms currently renovated.

The various pieces are displayed in 160 vitrines or hung on walls or ceilings.

The collections of the museum contain 10,000 authentic objects :

personal firearms and slashers, cannons, headgear, uniform helmets, flags and emblems, decorations, equipment, trappings, personal items, reduced-scale models, etc.

The scenography draws a distintion between seven periods: The Ancien Regime, the First Republic, Empire,

the Restoration, the African Army, the Second Empire and World War I.

The finial of the museum consists of halls from the Napoleonic period. The most impressive visual elements are the 130 mannequins, around 15 of which are on horseback.

Their faces have been crafted by Raoul Brunon using illustrations pf famous military figures.

♦ The entrance hall has an armaments and armour collection dating back to the XIV and XVII centuries, as well

as the history of the château. ♦ One hall is dedicated to the history of the Brunon collection : images of Epinal, uniforms and childrens' toys, etc. ♦ Another piece demonstrates the development of uniforms since the reign of Louis XIV. ♦ Two halls dedicated to the training of the French army from the reign of Louis XIV to the Revolution.

♦ Four halls on the army of the First Republic. ♦ There is an exhibit on the First Empire that takes in five halls: Campaigns, marshalls, the Legion of Honour, exile. ♦ The exhibit on the army of the Second Republic takes up

two halls. ♦ Six halls are dedicated to an exhibition on the Second Empire, from Magenta to Sedan, through the Crimean War. ♦ French and German armies echo in the part of the museum dedicated to World War I, from the Champagne fronts to the Chemin des Dames and Taxis de la Marne to victory. This collection was originally brought together by Jean Brunon in memory of his brother, who died at the front. ♦ Firearms and their history since Louis XIII are displayed in the display cabinets in two halls that can be accessed from the entrance hall. ♦ Two other rooms, accessible from the main hall. The first room is reserved for temporary exhibits.

The second, created using collections 14-18 and objects from the Ecole de l'Air, gives an insight into the history of military aeronautics. The collection begins with the period 1970-1980

This library is the second-largest store of military archives in France, after that of the history service of the department of defence. It has 24 000 volumes, 20 000 periodicals, 15 000 paintings, cartoons, etchings, autographs, official and personal documents, photographs, 5 000 maps, designs, letters and ship monographs.

Château de l'Empéri

Montée du Puech - 13300 Salon-de-Provence

Tel. : 04.90.56.22.36 - Fax : 04.90.56.90.84

Opening hours

October 1 to April 15: open daily except Mondays from 13h30 to 18h
From 16 April to 30 September: open every day except Mondays from 9.30am to 12pm and 14pm to 18pm.

The museum gift shop is located in the entrance hall

Association "Les Amis du Musée de l'Empéri"

It is both a traditional museum of the French army and a representative collection of the past and present of the French airborne units. Guardian of the identity of all airborne troops, its goal is to present their history, traditions, spirit and current developments.

Its collections and displays comprising many lifelike scenes are accessible to all and are of interest to both the public and the troops themselves. Temporary exhibitions make it a regional centre for disseminating the spirit of defence. The museum is thus intended as a place where the memory of contemporary conflicts can be studied and passed on, with a variety of information sources available to teachers, university students and visitors.

The museum charts the history of the French paratroopers, from their origins to the present. The exhibition comprises five displays preceded by explanatory videos.

Each display consists of scenes containing mannequins in full battle dress, weaponry and vehicles, against a poster backdrop:

- The period of the pioneers, the emergence of parachute technology and the use of parachutists: First World War balloonists, the first specific equipment, German, Soviet and French parachutists. The creation of the French airborne troops dates back to 1 April 1937, when two Air Infantry Groups (GIAs) were set up: the 601st GIA in Reims and the 602nd GIA in Baraki (Algeria). Their doctrine and inspiration were Soviet, brought back by Colonel Geille from his training visit to the USSR and based on what was learned from the large-scale manoeuvres in Kiev in 1935.

- The Second World War and the creation of the major British and American units: French soldiers of the Free French Forces (FFL) in the Special Air Service (SAS) and in North Africa, equipped by the Americans. In 1940, an air infantry company was founded within the Free French Air Force, which would be incorporated in the Special Air Service as the “French Squadron”. The 3rd and 4th SAS were subsequently formed from escapees from France and the remnants of General Giraud’s army, which would go on to become the 3rd and 4th Chasseurs Parachute Regiments (RCP). They were dropped over Brittany on the eve of the D-Day landings, tasked with destroying a series of targets with the aim of stalling the enemy on the Breton peninsula. The 1st RCP, entirely equipped by the Americans, formed part of the US 82nd Airborne Division, before being deployed in the Vosges in 1944. The Shock Battalion, trained in jumping by the Americans and in combat by the British, was deployed in the liberation of Corsica and the island of Elba, then in metropolitan France. The African Commandos, the Shock Battalion’s sister regiment, specialising in amphibious operations and carrying heavier equipment, followed the 1st Army right up until the armistice. The Commandos of France, founded in 1944, joined the fighting with the 1st Army.

- The First Indochina War, a period in which the legend of the French paras was born and the major French units, variously equipped, were founded. 

- The Algerian War, urban guerrilla warfare and helicopter transport over the vast desert. The collections stress the wide variety of uniforms and equipment used.

- The contemporary world, overseas operations and peacekeeping (Bizerte, Kolwezi, etc.). The exhibition presents the technical know-how and current equipment used by the units, by means of illustrations and videos (Special Forces, frogmen, equipment drops, demining, the Gendarmerie Nationale Task Force (GIGN), etc.), and stresses the key role of the École des Troupes Aéroportées (ETAP).

The museum’s collections are enriched by a permanent exhibition of works by army artists, including Brayer, Le Zachmeur, Sollier and Rosenberg. - The museum has a study room open to researchers; documents must be consulted on site.

Founded in February 2013, the Society of Friends of the Musée des Parachutistes (SAMParas) is officially recognised as the museum’s only support organisation. Since 16 July 2018, it has been a registered charity and can therefore issue tax receipts.

Its object is to contribute to the preservation, development and promotion of the historic and cultural heritage of the Musée des Parachutistes. It is in charge of collecting material and financial donations and taking museum tours.

Thanks to its volunteers, the museum is open 360 days a year and visitors have enthusiastic guides to take them round.

For further information or if you would like to make a donation, please phone SAMParas on +33 (0)5 59 40 49 19 or email them at samparas@orange.fr

A prestigious museum The Army's Health Service Museum, is situated in the monument grouping of Val-de-Grâce in a splendid cloister. This museum is a traditional institution, which was completely restructured and attached to the Army's Health Service School. A historic site The Benedictine abbey, transformed into a military hospital in 1793, and thus preserved from the revolutionary destructions, was built on the XVII Century. It results from the wish of Anne of Austria, thanking this way the birth of Louis XIV. Its realization is the result of the work of several famous architects, for example: François Mansart, Jacques Lemercier, Pierre Le Muet, Pierre Mignard, Michel and François Anguier. The church symbolizes the nativity and is the most sculptured church of France. It is the most exhaustive example of the French Baroque art.

The voluntary pedagogic presentation of the collections helps to give, to all kind of visitors, a better understanding of the bases and multiple vocations of the Medicine of the Armies. Every topic is further developed by the use of an audio-visual production. It is developed in occasion of temporary exhibitions. The first halls of the museum evoke the personnel of the Health Service, in particular the evolution of their uniforms and their teaching. It also illustrates the principal mission of the service : the medical support of the armed forces during the conflicts, from the collecting of the wounded men on the battle spots and their evacuation, to the hospitals in the rear on the ground, the sea and the air.
The visitor also discovers the research activities of the Health Service, which so often were put into rhythm by the conflicts and for the benefit of the armies. The wax forms point out the research activities in the oral and face surgery field, during the war of 1914-1918. The Carli, Sudre or Leriche statuettes testify to the research of the Health service in the domain of the psychiatry. A decompression chamber as well as a "Véronique" rocket head, illustrates the underwater medicine and the aerospace medicine. The research undertaken by the military pharmacists, during their discovery journeys around the world, on war poisons is exhibited as well.
The participation of the Army's Health Service in the civil domain is recalled since the XIX century, by its human actions, its care for the population, the creation of medical schools or Pasteur Institutes and the fight against the big diseases. Exemples are Calmette, Yersin, Jamot. The Army's Health Service has also a vast experience in the progress of hygiene. In particular the food and clothing hygiene but also the general house and behaviour hygiene. Its experience is predominant in the fight against metropolitan or exotic infectious diseases. For example, diseases like typhoid, meningitis, the plague, the viral hepatitis and malaria.
The visitor can also admire the collection of pharmacy objects of the doctors Debat. It is fitted out in the old kitchens of the Benedictine nuns and gathers Italian and French pieces of earthenware, instruments of medicine and mortars. The "Majoliques" are Italian ceramics of the Renaissance and which illustrates the production of Faenza, Montelupo, Deruta or Venice. Here it is possible to discover the instruments of the pharmacy and medicine domain, like the amputation saws or special trepans, first-aid kits and microscopes, for the majority coming from the 18th century. A pharmacy is reconstituted and exhibits earthenware and porcelains coming from Ile-de-France or the Netherlands. Other ceramics, coming from factories in Lille, Rouen, Nevers, Nîmes, Saint-Cloud, or also in the South-west or even the Far East are exhibit close to the blown glass bottles. The collection of the 103 mortars is one of the most prestigious worldwide. This splendid typology shows objects of the ancient Egypt to our days, coming from productive areas and realized in all kind of materials.
Museum of the Arm's Health Service (Musée du Service de Santé des Armées) : 1, place Alphonse Laveran 75230 Paris Cedex 05 Tél. : 01 40 51 51 92 - Fax : 01 40 51 51 93 Timetable Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday : from 12 a.m. to 5p.m. Group visits on reservation under the Phone number : 01 40 51 51 94 Tariffs Adults :4,60 €. Children (under 12 years) : 2,30 €. Free entrance for children less then six years, active militaries, the civil staff of the Ministry of Defence. Public Transports RER (Train) : Port-Royal. Subway : Goblins. BUS : 91, 83.