  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.
