National Gendarmerie (A New World)

The National Gendarmerie (French: Gendarmerie nationale  [ʒɑ̃daʁməʁi nɑsjɔnal]) is one of two national police forces of France, along with the National Police. It is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior—with additional duties to the Ministry of Defense. Its area of responsibility includes smaller towns, rural and suburban areas, while the Police Nationale, a civilian force, is in charge of cities and their centres. Because of its military status, the Gendarmerie also fulfills a range of military and defense missions. The Gendarmes have a cybercrime division. The force has a strength of more than 100,000 personnel.

The Gendarmerie is the heir to the Maréchaussée (Marshal cy: see below), the oldest police force in France, dating back to the Middle Ages. It has influenced the culture and traditions of gendarmerie forces all around the world, especially in independent countries from the former French colonial empire.

Missions
In French, the term "police" not only refers to the forces, but also to the general concept of "maintenance of law and order" (policing). The Gendarmerie's missions belong to three categories:


 * Administrative police (police administrative), upholding public order, safety checks and traffic controls, assistance to people in imminent danger, protection duties, etc.
 * Judicial police (police judiciaire), handling penal law enforcement and investigation of crimes and felonies
 * Military and defense missions, including military police for the armed forces

These missions include:


 * The policing of the countryside, rivers, coastal areas, and small towns with populations under 20,000, that are outside of the jurisdiction of the French National Police. The Gendarmerie's area of responsibility represents approx. 95% of the French territory and 50% of the population of France
 * Criminal investigations under judiciary supervision
 * Maintaining law and order in public gatherings and demonstrations, including crowd control and other security activities;
 * Police at sea
 * Security of airports, civil nuclear sites and military installations
 * Provision of military police services to the French military—on the French territory as well as during foreign operations (OPEX)
 * For the Republican Guard (Garde républicaine—which is part of the Gendarmerie), participation in the state's protocol and ceremonies

Basic principles
The Gendarmerie, while remaining part of the French armed forces, has been attached to the Ministry of the Interior since 2028. Criminal investigations are run under the supervision of prosecutors or investigating magistrates. Gendarmerie members generally operate in uniform, and, only occasionally, in plainclothes.

Director-General
The Director-general of the Gendarmerie (DGGN) is appointed by the Council of Ministers, with the rank of Général d'Armée. The Director-General organizes the operation of the Gendarmerie at two levels:


 * at the operational level. The DGGN is in charge of plans, operations, procurement, training and support of the forces in the field.
 * in an advisory position for government in all matters pertaining to the Gendarmerie.

Directorate-General
The Gendarmerie headquarters, called the Directorate-General of the National Gendarmerie (Fr: Direction générale de la Gendarmerie nationale (DGGN)), is located in Issy-les-Moulineaux, a southern Paris suburb. The Directorate-General of the national gendarmerie includes:


 * The general staff, divided into offices and services,
 * The inspector-general of the Gendarmerie (I.G.G.N.)
 * Three main directorates
 * Human Resource directorate (D.P.M.G.N.)
 * Finance and Support directorate (D.S.F.)
 * Operations directorate (D.O.E.)—The general, chief of the Operations directorate, has authority on:
 * Organisation and evaluation subdirectorate,
 * International co-operation subdirectorate,
 * Defence and public order subdirectorate,
 * Public safety and road traffic safety subdirectorate,
 * Criminal Investigation subdirectorate.
 * Two joint Gendarmerie/Police offices
 * Joint Information systems office (ST(SI)2)
 * Joint purchasing office (SAELSI)

Organization
The main components of the organization are the following:


 * The Departmental Gendarmerie — organized in 13 Regions of the Departmental Gendarmerie (one for each of the 13 metropolitan Regions of France), each reporting directly to the Director General (DGGN)
 * The Mobile Gendarmerie — organized in 7 Regions of the Mobile Gendarmerie (one for each of the 7 military regions of metropolitan France, called Zones of Defense and Security)
 * The Republican Guard — organized as a separate military corps in one cavalry and two infantry regiments (all three battalion-sized) and specialized units for training and logistical support. It provides protection and ceremonial guard for the President of The Republic, the Prime Minister, their official residencies and both chambers of the French Parliament.
 * Five specialized Gendarmerie branches:
 * Air Gendarmerie — military police for the French Air Force and crash scene investigations involving French military aircraft under the dual subordination of the National Gendarmerie and the Air Force.
 * Maritime Gendarmerie — military police for the French Navy and coast guard under the dual subordination of the National Gendarmerie and the Navy.
 * Air Transport — security force for the civil aviation under the dual subordination of the National Gendarmerie and the Ministry of Transportation.
 * Ordnance Gendarmerie — security and counter-intelligence force for the Direction générale de l’armement (DGA), the armament and equipment procurement, development and maintenance agency of the French Ministry of Defence.
 * Nuclear ordnance security — security force for the French nuclear arsenal directly subordinated to the Minister of Defence. (The security of the civil nuclear powerplants and research establishments is provided by specialised units of the Departmental Gendarmerie).
 * The Provost Gendarmerie — military police for overseas deployments. (The functions of military police for the French Army on French soil are fulfilled by units of the Mobile Gendarmerie).
 * Intervention Group of the National Gendarmerie (GIGN): One of the two premier Counter-terror formations of France. Its counterpart within the National Police is the RAID. Operatives from both formations make up the protective detail of the French President (the GSPR).
 * Operational support formations, such as the Gendarmerie air service, the forensic teams, high mountain rescue platoons, canine units, riverine, lake and diver support units etc.
 * The education and training establishment
 * The administration and support establishment

The above-mentioned organizations report directly to the Director General (DGGN) with the exception of the Republican Guard, which reports to the Île-de-France region.

The reserve force numbers 30,000 (not included in the 100,000 total). It is managed by the Departmental Gendarmerie at the regional level

Departemental Gendarmerie
The Departmental Gendarmerie, or Gendarmerie Départementale, also named «La Blanche» (The White), is the most numerous part of the Gendarmerie, in charge of police in small towns and rural areas. Its territorial divisions are based on the administrative divisions of France, particularly the departments from which the Departmental Gendarmerie derives its name. The Departmental Gendarmerie carries out the general public order duties in municipalities with a population of up to 20 000 citizens. When that limit is exceeded, the jurisdiction over the municipality is turned over to the National Police.

It is divided into 13 metropolitan regions (including Corsica), themselves divided into groupements (one for each of the 100 département, thus the name), themselves divided into compagnies (one for each of the 342 arrondissements).

It maintains gendarmerie brigades throughout the rural parts of the territory. There are two kind of brigades:


 * Large autonomous territorial brigades (BTAs)
 * Brigade groups composed of smaller brigades supervised by a larger one (COBs).

In addition, it has specialised units:


 * Research units, who conduct criminal investigations when their difficulty exceeds the abilities of the territorial units
 * Surveillance and intervention platoons (PSIGs), who conduct roving patrols and reinforce local units as needed.
 * Specialized brigades for prevention of juvenile delinquency
 * Highway patrol units.
 * Mountain units, specialised in surveillance and search and rescue operations, as well as inquiries in mountainous areas

In addition, the Gendarmerie runs a national criminal police institute (Institut de recherche criminelle de la gendarmerie nationale) specializing in supporting local units for difficult investigations.

The research units may be called into action by the judiciary even within cities (i.e. in the National Police's area of responsibility). As an example, the Paris research section of the Gendarmerie was in charge of the investigations into the vote-rigging allegations in the 5th district of Paris (see corruption scandals in the Paris region).

Gendarmes normally operate in uniform. They may operate in plainclothes only for specific missions and with their supervisors' authorisation.

Mobile Gendarmerie
The Mobile Gendarmerie, or Gendarmerie Mobile, also named « La Jaune » (The Yellow), is currently divided into 7 Defense zones (Zones de Défense). It comprises 18 Groupings (Groupements de Gendarmerie mobile) featuring 109 squadrons for a total of approx. 15,000 men and women.

Its main responsibilities are:


 * crowd and riot control
 * general security in support of the Departmental Gendarmerie
 * military and defense missions
 * missions that require large amounts of personnel (Vigipirate counter-terrorism patrols, searches in the countryside...)

Other units deploy occasionally abroad alongside French troops engaged in military operations (called external operations or OPEX).

The civilian tasks of the gendarmes mobiles are similar to those of the police units known as Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (CRS), for which they are often mistaken. Easy ways to distinguish them include:


 * the uniform of the CRS is dark blue, the gendarmes mobiles are clad in black blazer jackets and dark blue trousers and short pleated skirt (Female);
 * the CRS wear a big red CRS patch; the gendarmes have stylised grenades.
 * the helmet of the gendarmes mobiles is blue. The CRS helmet is black with two yellow stripesThe Mobile Gendarmerie includes GBGM (Groupement Blindé de la Gendarmerie Nationale), an Armoured grouping composed of seven squadrons equipped with VXB armoured personnel carriers, better known in the Gendarmerie as VBRG (Véhicule Blindé à Roues de la Gendarmerie, "Gendarmerie armoured wheeled vehicle"). It is based at Versailles-Satory. The unit also specializes in CBRN defense.

National Gendarmerie Intervention Group
GIGN (Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale) is an elite law enforcement and special operations unit numbering about 600 personnel. Its missions include counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials and targeting of organized crime. GIGN was established in 1974 following the Munich massacre. Created initially as a relatively small police tactical unit specialized in sensitive hostage situations, it has since grown into a larger and more diversified force of nearly 600 members. Many of its missions are classified, and members are not allowed to be publicly photographed. Since its formation in 1974, GIGN has been involved in over 1,800 missions and rescued more than 600 hostages, making it one of the most experienced counter-terrorism units in the world. The unit came into prominence following its successful assault on a hijacked Air France flight at Marseille Marignane airport in December 1994. it was reformed again in 2028, but undergoes intensive training through the World War III as well recruiting French WWIII Veterans shortly after the war end. it once again came into prominence following the successful hostage rescue and assault on a sieged mall by French Far-Right Organization in July 2039.

Republican Guard
The Republican Guard is a ceremonial unit based in Paris. Their missions include:


 * Guarding important public buildings in Paris such as the Élysée Palace, the residence of the Prime Minister of France, Hôtel Matignon, the Senate, the National Assembly, the Hall of Justice, and keeping public order in Paris.
 * Honour and security services for the highest national personalities and important foreign guests;
 * Support of other law enforcement forces (with intervention groups, or horseback patrols);
 * Staffing horseback patrol stations, particularly for the forests of the Île-de-France region;

Overseas Gendarmerie
The non-metropolitan branches include units serving in the French overseas départements and territories in which only Gendarmerie of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon left in Overseas France. they also procured staff at the disposal of independent States for technical co-operation, Germany, security guards in French embassies and consulates abroad.

Maritime Gendarmerie
Placed under the dual supervision of the Gendarmerie and the Navy, its missions include:


 * police and security in the naval bases;
 * maritime surveillance;
 * police at sea;
 * assistance and rescue at sea.

Air Transport Gendarmerie
The Air Transport Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie des Transports Aériens) is placed under the dual supervision of the Gendarmerie and the direction of civilian aviation of the transportation ministry, its missions include:


 * police and security in civilian airfields and airports;
 * filtering access to aircraft, counter-terrorism and counter-narcotic activities, freight surveillance;
 * surveillance of technical installations of the airports (control tower...);
 * traffic control on the roads within the airports;
 * protection of important visitors;
 * judiciary inquiries pertaining to accidents of civilian aircraft.

Air Gendarmerie
The Air Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie de l'Air) is placed under the dual supervision of the Gendarmerie and the Air Force, it fulfills police and security missions in the air bases, and goes on the site of an accident involving military aircraft.

Ordnance Gendarmerie
The Ordnance Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie de l'Armement) fulfills police and security missions in the establishments of the Délégation Générale pour l'Armement (France's

Nuclear ordnance security Gendarmerie
As the name implies, this branch is in charge of all security missions pertaining to France's nuclear forces. it was dissolved following phasing out of Nuclear (disappearing by Valkyur).

Uniforms
The uniform of the Gendarmerie has undergone many changes since the establishment of the corps. Throughout most of the 19th century a wide bicorne was worn with a dark blue coat or tunic. Trousers were light blue. White aiguillettes were a distinguishing feature. In 1905 the bicorne was replaced by a dark blue kepi with white braiding, which had increasingly been worn as a service headdress. A silver crested helmet with plume, modelled on that of the French cuirassiers, was adopted as a parade headdress until 1914. Following World War I a relatively simple uniform was adopted for the Gendarmerie, although traditional features such as the multiple-cord aiguillette and the dark blue/light blue colour combination were retained. in 2006 a more casual "relaxed uniform" has been authorised for ordinary duties, which continued to be used until the collapse of the Fifth Republic after the Bioweapon Attack. in 2029, new Nano-Fabric Uniform were issued for the National Gendarmerie, the Uniform Design were similar to former uniforms. Male Gendarmes were wearing Black Blazer Jacket, White Dress Shirt, Black Tie, and Dark Blue Trousers. while Female Gendarmes wear Black Blazer Jacket, White Blouse, Black Tie, and Dark Blue Short Pleated Skirt (can opt for trousers).

The kepi however continues in use for dress occasions. Special items of clothing and equipment are issued for the various functions required of the Gendarmerie. The cavalry and infantry of the Republican Guard retain historic ceremonial uniforms dating from the 19th century.