The title Marshal General of France or more exactly "Marshal General of the King's camps and armies" (maréchal général des camps et armées du roi) was given to signify that the recipient had authority over all the French armies in the days when a Marshal

Marshal of France

The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...

 governed only one army usually. This dignity was bestowed only on Marshals of France

Marshal of France

The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...

, usually when the dignity of Constable of France

Constable of France

The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...

 was unavailable or, after 1626, suppressed.

List of incumbents

There were only six in the history of France:

Five in the pre-revolutionary kingdom:

• Charles de Gontaut, duc de Biron
  Charles de Gontaut, duc de Biron
  Charles de Gontaut, duc de Biron was a French soldier.-Biography:He was the son of Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron, under whose command he fought for the royal party against the Catholic League in the later stages of the Wars of Religion in France. His efforts won him the name “Thunderbolt of...
  
  , 1562–1602:
  • Admiral of France
    Admiral of France
    The title Admiral of France is one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France, the naval equivalent of Marshal of France.The title was created in 1270 by Louis IX of France, during the Eighth Crusade. At the time it was equivalent to the office of Constable of France. The Admiral was responsible...
    
     1592;
  • Admiral & Marshal 26 January 1594
  • unclear when promoted to Marshal General;
  • executed 1602.
• François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières
  François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières
  François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières was soldier of the French Wars of Religion and Constable of France.- Early life :He was born at Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur, to a family of notaries with pretensions to nobility...
  
  , 1543–1626:
  • Marshal 27 September 1609:
  • Marshal General 30 March 1621;
  • Constable of France
    Constable of France
    The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...
    
     6 July 1622.
• Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne
  Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne
  Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne,often called simply Turenne was the most illustrious member of the La Tour d'Auvergne family. He achieved military fame and became a Marshal of France...
  
  , 1611–1675:
  • Marshal 16 November 1643;
  • Marshal General 4 April 1660.
• Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars, 1653–1734:
  • Marshal 20 October 1702;
  • Marshal General 18 October 1733.
• Maurice, comte de Saxe
  Maurice, comte de Saxe
  Maurice de Saxe was a German in French service who was Marshal and later also Marshal General of France.-Childhood:...
  
  , 1696–1750:
  • Marshal 26 March 1744;
  • Marshal General 12 January 1747.

Only one under the House of Orléans

House of Orleans

Orléans is the name used by several branches of the Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimate male line from the dynasty's founder, Hugh Capet. It became a tradition during France's ancien régime for the duchy of Orléans to be granted as an appanage to a younger son of the king...

' sole, constitutional king Louis-Philippe of France

Louis-Philippe of France

Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...

:

• Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult
  Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult
  Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia , the Hand of Iron, was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804. He was one of only six officers in French history to receive the distinction of Marshal General of France...
  
  , 1769–1851:
  • Marshal of the Empire 19 May 1804
  • Marshal General 15 September 1847

Sources

• Quid.fr (French language online encyclopedia)
• web.genealogie: les militaires (also online)
• Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography, edited by Trevor N. Dupuy et al. (most dates are from the latter)