Mean field and beyond description of nuclear structure with the Gogny force: A review

Nowadays, the Gogny force is a referent in the theoretical description of nuclear structure phenomena. Its phenomenological character manifests in a simple analytical form that allows for implementations of techniques both at the mean field and beyond all over the nuclide chart. Over the years, multiple applications of the standard many-body techniques in an assorted set of nuclear structure applications have produced results which are in a rather good agreement with experimental data. The agreement allows for a simple interpretation of those intriguing phenomena in simple terms and gives confidence on the predictability of the interaction. The present status on the implementation of different many body techniques with the Gogny force is reviewed with a special emphasis on symmetry restoration and large amplitude collective motion.