Centre des Hautes Etudes Militaires
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| Motto | "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory". |
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| Type | Military college |
| Established | 1 May 1802 |
| Commandant | Major General Éric Bonnemaison |
| Undergraduates | none (undergraduate degree in a military or civilian preparatory college is a prerequisite) |
| Postgraduates | equivalent of a master's degree |
| Location | Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany, France |
| Campus | rural |
| Colours | Red, white and blue |
| Nickname | Saint-cyrien, cyrard |
| Website | www.st-cyr.terre.defense.gouv.fr/ |
The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") is the foremost French military academy. It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ siʁ]). Its motto is "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory". French cadet officers are called "saint-cyriens", or "cyrards". The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan department, Brittany, France.
French students who enter the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr as cadets are about 21 years old, and undergo three years of training. All ESM cadets graduate with a master of arts or a master of science and are commissioned officers.
The academy was founded in Fontainebleau in 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte and was then moved in 1806 in the buildings of the former Maison Royale de Saint-Louis, in Saint-Cyr-l'École, West of Paris. The cadets moved several times during the second World War eventually settling in 1945 in the Coetquidan military camp, in Morbihan.
The École Spéciale Militaire was created by order of Napoleon Bonaparte on May 1, 1802 (the Law of 11 Floréal an X according to the then-official revolutionary calendar), to replace the École Royale Militaire then located in Fontainebleau. Renamed the École Spéciale Impériale Militaire after Bonaparte was proclaimed emperor, it moved in 1808 to Saint-Cyr-l'École (Yvelines) in the castle of the former Maison royale de Saint-Louis, a school for girls of the French nobility disbanded at the time of the Revolution.
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