Since the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015, the soldiers of Operation Sentinelle have become a familiar sight on the streets of France.

The military men and women routinely patrol art galleries, stations, mosques, schools, tourist sites, anywhere people might gather to protect them from terror attack.

Initially a force of 10,000 was deployed across the country but since September 2016 this has been reduced to 7,500.

Half of these are based in Paris - the remainder across the rest of the country.

It is a massive undertaking for the military - the number deployed accounts for around half of all French soldiers on operations.


Image: A soldier stands guard by Notre Dame Cathedral

A Sentinelle mission is two months with no leave. Soldiers receive a medal for "Protection of the Territory" after 60 days of service on the operation.

Operation Sentinelle has not been without criticism. Some do not like the presence of the heavily armed personnel on the streets.

There has been difficulty accommodating such a large force in the capital - some troops have been based in fire stations.

Image: Soldiers on Operation Sentinelle patrol outisde the Louvre

There have also been complaints about living standards, troops spending long periods of time away from their families and missing out on training.

One general has even suggested the operation has failed to deliver - it did not stop the marauding attacks in Paris which left 130 dead in November 2015, or the truck attack in Nice in July.

But the operation is unlikely to be scaled back while France remains in a state of emergency.

Instead, with every change in the terrorists' tactics, the operation shifts its focus - from key buildings after Hebdo, to street patrols after the Paris attack, to large-scale gatherings after Nice.

It's a risky job. In February 2015, three soldiers were attacked outside a Jewish Community Centre in Nice, in January 2016 a man drove a car into four soldiers outside a mosque in Valence, last month a man attacked four soldiers with a machete at the Louvre Museum.

In the latest attack, a woman was attacked while on patrol at Orly Airport in Paris.

The troops of Sentinelle may help to make the streets feel safer but their presence has also made them a target.