Misplaced Pages

#214785

55-625: The National Guard (French: Garde nationale ) is a French military, gendarmerie , and police reserve force , active in its current form since 2016 but originally founded in 1789 during the French Revolution . For most of its history the National Guard, particularly its officers, has been widely viewed as loyal to middle-class interests. It was founded as separate from the French Army and existed both for policing and as

110-701: A legion . Districts might also provide companies of veterans and young citizens, respectively drawn from volunteers over 60 or under 18. Where possible, there was provision for mounted detachments and artillery batteries under the Guard. On 2 July 1792, the Assembly authorized the National Guard's attendance as part of the Festival of Federation on 14 July, thus circumventing a royal veto. Section assemblies were permitting "passive" citizens to join their National Guard companies without seeking formal permission. On 11 July,

165-594: A military reserve . However, in its original stages from 1792 to 1795, the National Guard was perceived as revolutionary and the lower ranks were identified with sans-culottes . It experienced a period of official dissolution from 1827 to 1830 but was reestablished. Soon after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the National Guard in Paris again became viewed as dangerously revolutionary, which contributed to its dissolution in 1871. In 2016, France announced

220-701: A civilian police force, such as the Israel Border Police or "Magav", which is the gendarmerie branch of the civilian Israel Police . A few forces which are no longer considered military retain the title "gendarmerie" for reasons of tradition. For instance, the French language title of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC) (i.e., Royal Gendarmerie of Canada) because this force traditionally had some military-style functions (although separate from

275-648: A force should be defined as a gendarmerie (e.g. Mexico's Federal Police , Brazil's Military Police , or the former British South Africa Police until 1980). Some historical military units, such as South West Africa 's Koevoet , were only defined as police for political reasons. In Russia , the modern National Guard (successor of the Internal Troops of Russia ) are military units with quasi-police duties but historically, different bodies within Imperial Russia 's Special Corps of Gendarmes performed

330-533: A result of their duties within the civilian population, gendarmeries are sometimes described as " paramilitary " rather than " military " forces (especially in the English-speaking world where policing is rarely associated with military forces) although this description rarely corresponds to their official status and capabilities. Gendarmes are very rarely deployed in military situations, except in humanitarian deployments abroad. A gendarmerie may come under

385-569: A variety of functions as an armed rural constabulary, urban riot control units, frontier guards, intelligence agents and political police. Prior to the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, some policing was based on the Royal Irish Constabulary — initially an armed force located in police barracks, routinely unarmed after the 1880s when most civil unrest had subsided. Some consider this a gendarmerie, although this

440-532: Is common to many time periods and cultures. Being a French concept, the French Gendarmerie has been the most influential model for such an organisation. Many countries that were once under French rule and influence have a gendarmerie. Italy, Belgium , Luxembourg and Austria have had gendarmeries through Napoleonic influence for instance but, while Italy still has the Italian equivalent known as

495-675: Is tendentious as the subsequent Garda Síochána of the Irish Free State were also uniformly armed but not described as a gendarmerie. In China , after numerous reorganizations and transfers of control between the PLA and the MPS , the People's Armed Police , a gendarmerie service, was created on 19 June 1982. The establishment of the PAP highlighted the efforts to increase the professionalization of

550-485: The Battle of 13 Vendémiaire . The Paris National Guard thereafter ceased to play a significant political role. Napoleon did not believe that the middle-class National Guard would be able to maintain order and suppress riots. Therefore, he created a Municipal Guard of Paris , a full-time gendarmerie which was strongly militarized. However, he did not abolish the National Guard but was content to partially disarm it. He kept

605-706: The Early Modern period, the term referred to a heavily armoured cavalryman of noble birth , primarily serving in the French army. The word gained policing connotations only during the French Revolution , when the Maréchaussée of the Ancien Régime was renamed to Gendarmerie . Historically, the spelling in English was gendarmery , but now the French spelling gendarmerie is more common. The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED ) uses gendarmery as

SECTION 10

#1732766096215

660-654: The European Gendarmerie Force . Guet royal The Royal Watch , in French guet royal , was a French police unit founded in December 1254 by King Louis IX . It was officially merged with the "Lieutenancy General of Police" in 1750, to form the Paris Guard . The name "Royal Watch" was still used unofficially by the Paris Guard until the French Revolution , when many members of

715-856: The French Guards mutinied and were disbanded during the same month, the majority of this former royal regiment's rank and file became the full-time cadre of the Paris National Guard. Similar bodies of National Guards were spontaneously created in the towns and rural districts of France in response to widespread fears of chaos or counter-revolution. "Bourgeois Militia" changed its name to National Guard, like in Limoges in November 1789, where no other military bodies were allowed. Initially, each city, town and village maintained National Guard units operated by their respective local governments in

770-745: The July Revolution . A new National Guard was established in 1831 following the July Revolution in 1830. It played a major role in suppressing the Paris June Rebellion of 1832 against the government of King Louis-Phillipe . However, the same National Guard fought in the Revolution of 1848 in favour of the republicans. This change in allegiance reflected a general erosion in the popularity of Louis-Phillipe and his "Bourgeois Monarchy", rather than any fundamental change in

825-585: The National Gendarmerie and the National Police in securing major events nationwide while it would perform its historical responsibility as a national military and police reserve service. It was expected that the new Guard would grow to a 72,500-member force in 2017 and grow to an 86,000-member national reserve in 2018. The formation of the revived Guard would be assisted with a dedicated 311-million euro budget and its personnel come from

880-831: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is referred to in French as the Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC). However the RCMP is a mainly civilian organisation within Public Safety Canada . It is not part of the Canadian Department of National Defence , but does have a paramilitary wing and they have been awarded the status of a regiment of dragoons, with a military battle standard displaying their battle honours following service in World War I. Those honours include Northwest Canada, South Africa, The Great War, and

935-567: The insurrection of 10 August placed a radical revolutionary at the head of the Guard. After the abolition of the monarchy (21 September 1792), the National Guard fought for the Revolution and it had an important role in forcing the wishes of the capital on the French National Assembly which was obliged to give way in front of the force of the "patriotic" bayonets. The Insurrection of 31 May started after François Henriot

990-522: The Burghers' Watch and Guild Watch, considered ineffective, were dissolved. Increasingly exemptions had been sought from the burden of performing one full night's patrol duty every three weeks until the age of sixty. Instead, the Royal Watch received 200 archers, of whom 32 were on horse. By 1563 this had increased to 300 archers on foot and 200 on horse. From 1667, the Royal Watch operated alongside

1045-674: The Canadian Army), and have even been awarded battle honours and has retained its status as a regiment of dragoons . The Argentine National Gendarmerie is a military force in terms of training, identity and public perception, and was involved in combat in the Falklands War ; however, it is classified as a "security force" not an "armed force", to exercise jurisdiction over the civilian population under Argentine law. Since different countries may make different use of institutional terms such as "gendarmerie", there are cases in which

1100-601: The Carabinieri, with a second more specialized agency called Guardia di Finanza, Belgium and Austria's gendarmeries have merged with the civil police (in, respectively, 2001 and 2005). Many former French colonies, especially in Africa, also have gendarmeries. The Dutch Royal Marechaussee was created by King William I to replace the French Gendarmerie after French rule ended. The national police force of Canada,

1155-505: The French gendarmerie. In comparison to civilian police forces, gendarmeries may provide a more disciplined force whose military capabilities (e.g., armoured group in France with armoured personnel carriers ) make them more capable of dealing with armed groups and with all types of violence. On the other hand, the necessity of a more stringent selection process for military service, especially in terms of physical prowess and health, restricts

SECTION 20

#1732766096215

1210-504: The Jacobins won an emergency vote in the wavering Assembly, declaring the nation in danger and drafting all Parisians with pikes or pistols into the National Guard. On 17 July the municipality of Paris accepted all citizens armed with a pike for enlistment as part of the capital's own National Guard unit. The citizens kept their weapons and their uniforms at home and set forth with them when required. The initially multi-coloured uniforms of

1265-662: The Minister of the Armed Forces. Gendarmerie A similar concept exists in Eastern Europe in the form of internal troops , which are present in many countries of the former Soviet Union and its former allied countries. The word gendarme is a singular extracted from Old French gens d'armes ( pronounced [ʒɑ̃ d‿ aʁm] ), meaning " men-at-arms ". From the Late Middle Ages to

1320-456: The National Guard took over this role. In fact, the last commander of the Guet royal ( Chevalier du Guet ), de La Rothière, was elected to head the National Guard in 1791. In the summer of 1792, the fundamental character of the guard changed. The fédérés were admitted to the guard and the subsequent takeover of the guard by Antoine Joseph Santerre when Mandat was murdered in the first hours of

1375-516: The National Guard was expanded to 35,000 men and became the primary force for maintaining order within the city. Under the Restoration in 1814, the National Guard was maintained by Louis XVIII of France. Initially, the Guard, purged of its Napoleonic leadership, maintained good relations with the restored monarchy. The future Charles X served as its Colonel-General, reviewed the force regularly and intervened to veto its proposed disbandment on

1430-408: The National Guard. Clothing and equipment were often in short supply and even the Paris National Guard was obliged to provide pikes as substitute weapons for some of its new recruits. These field and regional units were disbanded in 1814 after the abdication of Napoleon I. Six thousand national guardsmen took part in the Battle of Paris in 1814. Following the occupation of Paris by the allied armies,

1485-467: The National Guard. Their role was the maintenance of law and order and, if necessary, territorial defense in wartime. Following a nationwide scheme decided on in September 1791, the National Guard was organised on the basis of district or canton companies. Five of these neighbourhood units (designated as fusiliers or grenadiers) made up a National Guard infantry battalion. Eight to ten battalions comprised

1540-452: The Paris Guard joined the new National Guard . The Royal Watch were also known to Parisians as "the archers". Louis IX founded the Watch in 1254 at the request of the guilds of Paris. Its mission was "for the safety of their persons and goods, to remedy the evils that occurred every night in the town, by fire, theft, burglary, violence, rape, and the removal of furniture". Originally,

1595-491: The Paris units of the National Guard in the uprising of the Paris Commune led to a great degree of hostility towards the National Guard, especially from the army. Perceived as an embodiment of the revolutionary republican "nation in arms" at the time of the Revolution of 1789, the National Guard was formally disbanded on 14 March 1872 as a threat to the security and order of the new Third Republic . The National Guard

1650-509: The Parliament recruited 400,000 National volunteers from the entire French National Guard. On 17 July 1791 Champ de Mars massacre took place. At the end of September a law passed to reorganize the National Guard formations in cantons and districts; each year officers and non-commissioned officers could be elected on 14 July . Under the law of 14 October 1791, all active citizens and their children over 18 years were obliged to enlist in

1705-869: The Royal Watch cooperated with the Standing Watch ( guet assis , literally 'sitting watch') provided by the townspeople of Paris (composed of the Burghers ' Watch, guet bourgeois , and Guild Watch, guet des métiers ). These watches came under the commander of the Royal Watch, titled the Knight of the Watch ( chevalier du guet ), who was answerable to the Provost . In 1364, the Knight of the Watch's forces by day were 12 sergeants. By night, he commanded eight standing posts of six watchmen each, and patrols conducted by twelve horse sergeants and twenty foot sergeants, as well as two "watch clerks" ( clercs de guet ). In 1559,

National Guard (France) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1760-566: The Second World War. A common gendarmerie symbol is a flaming grenade , first used as insignia by the French force. Gendarmes play an important role re-establishing law and order in conflict areas, a task which is suited to their purpose, training and capabilities. Gendarmeries are widely used for internal security and in peacekeeping operations, for instance in the former Yugoslavia and in Ivory Coast , sometimes via

1815-588: The armed forces. Despite its major role in the Franco-Prussian War, the National Guard was disbanded soon after the establishment of the Third Republic. Having been converted from a volunteer reserve into a much larger force composed mainly of conscripts, the National Guard had lost its identity and raison d'être . It also faced opposition from the regular army which was opposed to such a large armed force outside its direct control. The role of

1870-407: The authority of a ministry of defence (e.g. Algeria , Netherlands and Poland ), a ministry of the interior (e.g. Argentina , Romania , Turkey and Ukraine ) or even both ministries at once (e.g. Chile , France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain). Generally there is some coordination between ministries of defence and the interior over the use of gendarmes. In addition, some gendarmeries can be part of

1925-531: The authority of civilian police agencies. Since these are not strictly military forces, however, they are not considered gendarmerie. In France, the gendarmerie is in charge of rural areas and small towns (typically less than 10,000 inhabitants) which represent 95% of the territory and close to 50% of the population. Besides its territorial organization, it has crowd and riot control units (the Gendarmerie Mobile , along with some corresponding units in

1980-517: The campaigns in Germany in 1813 and the invasion of north-east France by Coalition forces in 1814. Existing National Guard units, such as those of Paris, were deployed as defence corps in their areas of recruitment. Mass conscription was extended to age groups previously exempt from military service, to provide more manpower for the expanded National Guard. Students and volunteers from gamekeepers and other professional groups formed separate units within

2035-644: The civilian police), counter-terrorism and hostage rescue ( GIGN , again along with some corresponding units in the civilian police), maritime surveillance, police at sea and coast guard ( Gendarmerie maritime ), control and security at airports and air traffic police ( Gendarmerie des transports aériens ), official buildings guard, honorary services and protection of the President ( Garde Républicaine ), mountain rescue ( Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne ) and security of nuclear weapons sites. The use of military organisations to police civilian populations

2090-595: The districts for not more than a year. They were united on 14 July 1790 under Lafayette, who was appointed "Commandant General of all the National Guards of the Kingdom" and was responsible to the King as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. On 5 December 1790 Robespierre held a speech on the urgent topic of the National Guard; envisaging an evolution from semi-organised militia to citizen-soldiers independent from

2145-581: The establishment of a new third National Guard. By his words, the Guard would be formed using military reserve forces. On 12 October 2016, during a weekly meeting of the Cabinet, the National Guard was officially reconstituted after 145 years, as the fifth service branch of the French Armed Forces under the Ministry of the Armed Forces . The revitalized Guard would also reinforce elements of

2200-405: The force in reserve and mobilised it for the defence of French territory in 1809 and 1814. In Paris during this period the National Guard comprised twelve thousand bourgeois property owners, serving part-time and equipped at their own expense, whose prime function was to guard public buildings on a roster basis. Between 1811 and 1812 the National Guard was organized in "cohorts" to distinguish it from

2255-590: The formation of a "Bourgeois Militia" ( "milice bourgeoise" ) on 13 July. In the early morning of the next day, the search for weapons for this new militia led to the storming of the town hall, the Hotel des Invalides and then the storming of the Bastille . Lafayette was elected to the post of commander in chief of the Bourgeois Militia on 14 July, and it was renamed the " National Guard of Paris ". When

National Guard (France) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2310-477: The grounds of economy by the Conseil . However, by 1827, the middle-class men who still composed the Guard had come to feel a degree of hostility towards the reactionary monarchy. Following hostile cries, at a review on 29 April Charles X dissolved the Guard the following day, on the grounds of offensive behaviour towards the crown. He neglected to disarm the disbanded force, and its muskets resurfaced in 1830 during

2365-519: The make-up of the National Guard, which remained a middle-class body. Napoleon III confined the National Guard during the Second Empire to subordinate tasks to reduce its liberal and republican influence. During the Franco-Prussian War the Government of National Defense of 1870 called on the Guard to undertake a major role in defending Paris against the invading Prussian army. During

2420-413: The pool of potential recruits in comparison to those from which a civilian police force could select. The growth and expansion of gendarmerie units worldwide has been linked to an increasing reluctance by some governments to use military units typically entrusted with external defence for combating internal threats. A somewhat related phenomenon has been the formation of paramilitary units which fall under

2475-990: The principal spelling, whereas Merriam-Webster uses gendarmerie as the principal spelling. These forces are normally titled "gendarmerie", but gendarmeries may bear other titles, for instance the Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza in Italy , the National Republican Guard in Portugal , the Guardia Civil in Spain , the Royal Marechaussee in the Netherlands or Internal Troops / National Guard in Ukraine and Russia . As

2530-511: The reestablishment of the National Guard for the second time, in response to a series of terrorist attacks in the country . The raising of a " Bourgeois Guard " ( "garde bourgeoise" ) for Paris was discussed by the National Assembly on 11 July 1789 in response to the King's sudden and alarming replacement of minister for finance and state, Jacques Necker , with the Baron de Breteuil on that day. The replacement caused rapidly spread anger and violence throughout Paris. The National Assembly declared

2585-514: The regular army, and for home defence only . By a skilful appeal to patriotism, and judicious pressure applied through the prefects , it became a useful reservoir of half-trained men for new battalions of the active army. After the disastrous campaign in Russia in 1812, dozens of National Guard cohorts were called up for field duty the next year; four cohorts being combined to form one line infantry regiment. The 135ème to 156ème Régiments d'Infanterie de Ligne were thus formed. Many of these fought in

2640-450: The regular army. He repeated his ideas in the following year. On 18 December it was decreed to supply the National Guard with 50,000 fusils. In January 1791 Robespierre promoted the idea not only the National Guard but also the people had to be armed if necessary with pikes. On 27 April 1791, Robespierre again opposed the plans for reorganizing the National Guard and restricting its membership to active citizens . On 22 April and 15 June 1791,

2695-420: The reserves, members from the private sector and active personnel seconded to the service. Unlike the Guard of the Revolutionary Wars, its officers are now seconded from both the Army and the National Gendarmerie and are graduates of their respective academies. As of 2024, Division General François-Xavier Poisbeau serves as the Secretary-General for the National Guard, who reports to the Chief of Defence Staff and

2750-401: The security apparatus, as well as the absorption of numerous PLA demobilized personnel, in the wake of growing unrest. In 2014, the Mexican Federal Police , a heavily armed force which has many attributes of a gendarmerie, created a new seventh branch of service called the National Gendarmerie Division. The new force would initially number 5,000 personnel and was created with the assistance of

2805-451: The term may become confusing. For instance, in the French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland the "gendarmeries" are the uniformed civil police (see: Gendarmerie (Switzerland) ). In Chile, the word "gendarmerie" refers for historic reasons to the prison service (the " Chilean Gendarmerie "), while the actual gendarmerie force is called the "carabineros". In some cases, a police service's military links are ambiguous and it can be unclear whether

SECTION 50

#1732766096215

2860-505: The uprising of the Paris Commune , from March to May 1871, the National Guard in Paris was expanded to include all able-bodied citizens capable of carrying weapons. Following the Commune's defeat by the regular French Army, the National Guard was officially abolished and its units disbanded. Also disbanded was the Mobile National Guard ( Garde Nationale Mobile ) raised in 1866 to provide personnel and officers for rapid deployment operations nationwide, as well as to provide reserve personnel for

2915-451: The various provincial National Guard units were standardised in 1791, using as a model the dark blue coats with red collars, white lapels and cuffs worn by the Paris National Guard since its creation. This combination of colours matched those of the then young revolutionary tricolour flag. The uniform headdress was the tricorne. The former Guet royal had held responsibility for the maintenance of law and order in Paris from 1254 to 1791, when

2970-436: Was chosen by the Commune to lead the Paris Guards. After 9 Thermidor , year II (27 July 1794), the new government of the Thermidorian Reaction placed the National Guard under the control of more conservative leadership. Part of the National Guard then attempted to overthrow the Directory during the royalist insurrection on the 13 Vendémiaire, year IV (5 October 1795), but was defeated by forces led by Napoleon Bonaparte in

3025-425: Was superseded by the creation of territorial regiments, made up of older men who had completed their period of full-time military service. These reserve units were embodied only in times of general mobilisation but remained an integral part of the regular army, distinguished only by details of insignia. After several terror attacks in France, which intensified in 2014–15 , French President François Hollande declared

#214785