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95-692: The Gendarmerie is the heir of the Maréchaussée , the oldest police force in France, dating back to the Middle Ages . The Gendarmerie has influenced the culture and traditions of gendarmerie forces around the world, especially in independent countries from the former French colonial empire . The Gendarmerie is the direct descendant of the Maréchaussée ("Marshalcy") of the ancien regime . The Maréchaussée lasted from medieval times until

190-767: 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,

285-619: 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 the formation of a "Bourgeois Militia" ( "milice bourgeoise" ) on 13 July. In

380-689: A "gendarmerie of Africa" was created for service in Algeria and during the Second Empire the Imperial Guard Gendarmerie Regiment was re-established. The majority of gendarmes continued in what was now the established role of the corps—serving in small, sedentary detachments as armed rural police. Under the Third Republic the ratio of foot to mounted gendarmes increased and the numbers directly incorporated in

475-519: A 1699 ordinance, for principal towns to oligarchies or feudal lords who sought the titles from vanity or an interest in the job. The Maréchaussée suffered from numerous problems—an uneven presence, lack of oversight, low number of personnel—aggravated by corruption of the officers and poor salaries. When Louis XIV died in 1714, it was estimated they had only 1,000 men to police all of rural France with companies of Maréchaussée based in larger towns with at times overlapping jurisdictions under

570-571: A Provost at the head of each one, residing in the chief town of the province, who could be placed at the disposal of the Intendant . The provostships ( prévôtés ) were divided into lieutenancies, with a lieutenant in each city heading up a presidial court , which in turn were subdivided into squads ( brigade   ) of four to five men distributed along the main roads. Each squad had to watch over about ten kilometers of road on either side of its headquarters. The "arrondissement" or "district" of

665-460: A more fine-grained and logical coverage of the territory. Nevertheless, in 1779 the Maréchaussée had no more than 3,300 men divided into 34 companies, one for each region (including Corsica), plus one for Paris and the Île-de-France , and another to ensure the king's security when he traveled, and 800 squads for the entire Kingdom . After the reform of 1778, all thirty-three companies formed

760-543: 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 the reestablishment of the National Guard for the second time, in response to a series of terrorist attacks in the country . The raising of

855-433: A provost ( prévôt ) who headed a small contingent of sergents (referred to as " archers " after 1501) to police the soldiers under the marshal's command and administer justice. The provosts would quickly take the name "provost of the marshals" to distinguish them from the royal provosts. Rulings were dispensed in separate courts. Judgements on the acts of soldiers such as desertion, treason and disputes with

950-605: A result, the Maréchaussée Royale was not disbanded but simply renamed as the gendarmerie nationale . Its personnel remained unchanged, and the functions of the force remained much as before. However, from this point, the gendarmerie, unlike the Maréchaussée , became a fully militarized force. During the revolutionary period, the main force responsible for policing was the National Guard . Although

1045-490: A royal guard. During the eighteenth century, the marshalcy developed in two distinct areas: increasing numbers of Marshalcy Companies ( compagnies de marechaussée ), dispersed into small detachments, were stationed around the French countryside to maintain law and order, while specialist units provided security for royal and strategic sites such as palaces and the mint (e.g., the garde de la prévôté de l'hôtel du roi and

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1140-564: A single corps of six divisions with a total of 4,114 men on the eve of the Revolution, thus forming the first national police force in France. During the revolutionary period , the Maréchaussée commanders generally placed themselves under the local constitutional authorities. Despite their connection with the king, they were therefore perceived as a force favoring the reforms of the French National Assembly . As

1235-432: A squad also included several dozen rural parishes in the area. In 1730, there were 30 companies in as many departments, with 3,288 men in 567 squads. The annual budget was 1,846,300 livres tournois . From 1760, the archers   —junior officers under the provosts—became known as " cavaliers ". The Royal Order of 25 February 1768 created 200 additional squads and reorganized their location, in order to achieve

1330-614: Is a slang term derived from an 18th-century Hungarian word for "frontier guards." The symbol of the gendarmerie is a stylized grenade , which is also worn by the Italian Carabinieri and the Grenadier Guards in Britain. The budget in 2008 was approximately 7.7 billion euros . The equivalent Dutch force, Royal Marechaussee , uses officially the old French term—which King William I , when assuming power after

1425-488: Is organized in seven Regions of the Mobile Gendarmerie (one for each of the seven military regions of metropolitan France, called ( Zones de Défense ). It comprises 18 Groupements de Gendarmerie mobile (Groupings) featuring 109 squadrons for a total of approx. 11,300 personnel. Its main responsibilities are: Nearly 20% of the Mobile Gendarmerie squadrons are permanently deployed on a rotational basis in

1520-690: Is the military police of the French Army deployed outside metropolitan France. The functions of military police for the French Army on French soil are fulfilled by units of the Departmental Gendarmerie. GIGN ( Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale ) is one of the two premier counter-terror formations in France. Its counterpart within the National Police is the RAID . Operatives from both formations make up

1615-481: Is to secure the government's control over all the nuclear forces and weapons. The security of the civil nuclear powerplants and research establishments is provided by specialized units of the Departmental Gendarmerie. More specifically, the gendarmes of this unit are responsible for ensuring the protection and the readiness of the different kinds of missiles used by the French Navy and Air Force. In order to do so,

1710-470: The Maréchaussée had been the main police force of the ancien regime , the gendarmerie was initially a full-time auxiliary to the National Guard militia. In 1791 the newly named gendarmerie nationale was grouped into 28 divisions, each commanded by a colonel responsible for three départements . In turn, two companies of gendarmes under the command of captains were based in each department. This territorial basis of organization continued throughout

1805-529: The Maréchaussée , or, formally, the Constabulary and Marshalcy of France ( connétablie et maréchaussée de France ). Unlike the former constabulary, the new Maréchaussée was not a fully militarized force. In 1720, the Maréchaussée was officially attached to the Household of the King ( Maison du Roi ), together with the gendarmerie of the time, which was not a police force at all, but

1900-404: The prévôté des monnaies de Paris .) While its existence ensured the relative safety of French rural districts and roads, visitors from England, which had nothing but the not very effective parish constables , saw the Maréchaussée , with its armed and uniformed patrols, as royal soldiers with an oppressive role and so a symbol of foreign tyranny. On the eve of the 1789 French Revolution ,

1995-485: 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

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2090-636: The Berliet VXB-170 armored personnel carrier , known in the Gendarmerie as the Véhicule Blindé à Roues de la Gendarmerie (VBRG, "Gendarmerie armoured wheeled vehicle"). It is based at Versailles - Satory . The unit also specializes in CBRN defense . The Republican Guard is a ceremonial unit based in Paris. Their missions include: The non-metropolitan branches include units serving in

2185-509: 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 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

2280-577: The Hundred Years' War (1337–1453). Claims that the origins go back to 1190 under Philip II in the creation of companies of " sergents d'armes " during the Crusades are tenuous at best. Its development began in earnest in the 16th century, reaching its final form under key ordinances in the 1700s. During the Middle Ages and to a lesser extent until the end of the ancien régime ,

2375-597: The Hundred Years' War , with some historians tracing it back to the early 12th century. The second organisation, the Constabulary ( Connétablie ), was under the command of the Constable of France . The constabulary was regularised as a military body in 1337. In 1415 the Maréchaussée fought in the Battle of Agincourt and their commander, the Prévôt des Maréchaux (Provost of the Marshals), Gallois de Fougières,

2470-745: 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

2565-517: The Maréchaussée numbered 3,660 men divided into small brigades (a "brigade" in this context being a squad of ten to twenty men). Their limited numbers and scattered deployment rendered the Maréchaussée ineffective in controlling the " Great Fear " of July through August, 1789. During the revolutionary period , the Maréchaussée commanders generally placed themselves under the local constitutional authorities. Despite their connection with

2660-406: The Middle Ages , and later extended to civilian responsibilities. They gradually coalesced into a police force with jurisdiction over the whole population on almost the entire territory of France. They retained powers of extraordinary justice (known as prévôtale ) until the French Revolution . Reforms carried out in the 18th century created the first national police force. In 1791, the force

2755-524: 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

2850-563: 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

2945-432: 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

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3040-507: The marble table in the Palais de Justice in Paris during the late 14th century under Charles V in part through his June 1373 edict. After the betrayal of Constable Louis, Count of Saint-Pol in 1475, then-king Louis XI removed the oft-vacant post of Constable from the head of the constabulary and moved the resolution of points of honor to the Court of Marshals. Sometime thereafter,

3135-533: The provost courts. The act broadened the jurisdiction of the Maréchaussée to include burglary and popular disorder and confirmed their power to arrest any offender. It also sought to combat abuse of their authority by putting enforcement under the supervision of local royal courts. The powers of the Maréchaussée evolved to include policing of cabarets and road and waterway transport. Louis XIV's administration profited from selling lieutenant-general posts to head up policing for Paris (created in 1667) and following

3230-542: 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: In addition, it has specialised units: 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

3325-468: The 15th century. Six provosts of marshals and up to 300 archers   for the marshals and Constable would be recorded by the start of the reign of King Francis I in the early 16th century. A consequence of the Hundred Years' War was the formation of " free companies " ( Grandes compagnies ) from unemployed soldiers and mercenaries formerly hired by the king for the war which pillaged

3420-502: The 19th and 20th centuries. After the defeat of Napoleon, Dutch king William I, renamed the Dutch branch of the gendarmerie to Marechaussee making the term continue in the Dutch armed forces. Notes Citations National Guard (France) 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

3515-565: The French Army with a military police role reduced. In 1901, the École des officiers de la gendarmerie nationale was established to train its officers. Five battles are remembered on the flag of the Gendarmerie: The National Gendarmerie is still sometimes referred to as the maréchaussée (being the old name for the service). The gendarmes are also occasionally called pandores , which

3610-714: The French Revolution. During the Middle Ages , there were two Grand Officers of the Kingdom of France with police responsibilities: The Marshal of France and the Constable of France . The military policing responsibilities of the Marshal of France were delegated to the Marshal's provost , whose force was known as the Marshalcy because its authority ultimately derived from the Marshal. The Marshalcy dates back to

3705-537: The French overseas départements and territories (such as the Gendarmerie of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon ), staff at the disposal of independent States for technical co-operation, Germany, security guards in French embassies and consulates abroad. 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

3800-532: The French overseas territories. Other units deploy occasionally abroad alongside French troops engaged in military operations (called external operations or OPEX). The civilian tasks of the mobile gendarmerie 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 Mobile Gendarmerie includes Groupement Blindé de la Gendarmerie Nationale (GBGM), an armoured group of seven squadrons equipped with

3895-636: The GSAN is composed of its own units and of units from other branches of the gendarmerie, temporary placed under its command like squadrons of the Mobile Gendarmerie to protect the convoys of nuclear weapons components. For instance, a special security platoon can be deployed on board of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to secure the nuclear weapons carried on the ship. The Provost Gendarmerie ( Gendarmerie prévôtale ), created in 2013,

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3990-505: 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

4085-511: The Maréchaussée in February 1719 to buy back command positions that had been sold or inherited and abolished the old companies and titles in favor of a more structured and hierarchical system. The Maréchaussée was symbolically placed under the administrative authority of the marshals and the elite Gendarmerie de la Maison du Roi , a heavy cavalry corps integrated into the household of the king and later dissolved on 1 April 1788. However, it

4180-645: The National Gendarmerie. 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 Departmental Gendarmerie ( Gendarmerie Départementale ), also named «La Blanche» (The White) , is the most numerous part of the Gendarmerie, is in charge of policing small towns and rural areas. Its territorial divisions are based on

4275-456: 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

4370-517: 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

4465-481: 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,

4560-467: 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

4655-491: 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

4750-509: 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

4845-518: The Western Roman Empire , officials in charge of police disappeared. With the rise of feudalism in France , policing powers formerly held by Roman officials were dispersed among a multitude of seigneurs . Lords of their fiefs , the seigneurs were all-powerful, including holding the power of justice over the peasants they controlled. The origins of the Maréchaussée are difficult to determine exactly, but occurred sometime during

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4940-548: The air bases, and goes on the site of an accident involving military aircraft. Placed under the dual supervision of the Gendarmerie and the Navy , its missions include: 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: The Ordnance Gendarmerie ( Gendarmerie de l'Armement ) fulfills police and security missions in

5035-588: 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

5130-631: The bailiffs and seneschals. Whereas the maréchaussée had been historically mobile, the ongoing problems spurred Louis XII to create the first provincial constabularies on 20 January 1514, at the urging of the provinces. The temporary deputy positions changed to official titles, which depending on the size of the province they were attached to were called "Provosts General" and "Provincial Provosts" or " Prévôts Particuliers ." Their judicial powers remained limited to soldiery. His successor, Francis I , went further, establishing such constabularies throughout France. These special military forces roamed

5225-517: 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

5320-530: The charge of commanders holding a variety of venal titles. These and other problems led to a series of reforms (1720, 1731, 1768, 1769, 1778) beginning on 9 March 1720 propelled by the Secretary of State for War Claude Le Blanc to make it more effective, reinforce its military character, and improve coverage in the countryside. A decree issued the day after his first edict by the Regency that followed

5415-425: The command of captains were based in each department. This territorial basis of organisation continued throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Under Napoléon, the numbers and responsibilities of the gendarmerie—renamed gendarmerie impériale —were expanded significantly. In contrast to the mounted Maréchaussée , the gendarmerie were both horse and foot personnel; in 1800, these numbered approximately 10,500 of

5510-419: The countryside for up to two days at a time, catching and sentencing evildoers from among the military, and later, among the civilian population as well. They also had the power to sentence perpetrators they had caught, with no possibility of appeal. The power of the provosts and their archers   was limited to the military and the écorcheur bands, leaving out oppressive gangs of civilians who wandered

5605-575: The countryside. France was finally liberated of these companies when future Constable of France Bertrand du Guesclin led them into Spain in 1366. With continued war between France and her neighbors, organized gang violence involving disbanded soldiers ( écorcheurs ) lingered and grew into the 16th century. In 1445, Charles VII recruited suitable members of these groups to help form the first paid standing army in Europe (the compagnies d'ordonnance ) to prosecute war. However, after 1464 and into

5700-595: The courts merged under the name of Constabulary and Marshalcy Tribunal , which name was retained even after the post of Constable was abolished in 1627. In this new court, the marshals rendered sentences alone. The provosts' ambit expanded to include policing vagabonds and rendering justice in the provinces. Their decisions could be appealed to the marshals and the Constable. In the 14th century, only one marshal and marshal's provost existed until around 1357, when war and unrest began to increase their numbers through

5795-533: The death of Louis XIV further focused the Maréchaussée on the suppression of mendicity and vagabondage. Although the level of these problems had reduced at least in part due to the economic recovery after the end of the wars and the 1709-10 famine as well as existing Maréchaussée efforts, the Ordinance expressed concern about the great number remaining who "beg with insolence, more often through idleness than genuine necessity. Le Blanc appointed two paymasters in

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5890-489: 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

5985-465: The early 1500s, the army as well as the marshals' provosts would be called on to also put down the remaining écorcheurs as the ordinary means of policing by bailiffs ( bailli ) and seneschals was ineffective. With a limited number of marshals' provosts, lieutenants had to be sent to temporarily represent the provost in the provinces to not only enforce military discipline but apprehend the itinerant looters and robbers and hand them over for judgement by

6080-645: 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 the French Guards mutinied and were disbanded during the same month,

6175-645: 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

6270-406: The establishments of the Délégation Générale pour l'Armement (France's defence procurement agency). The Nuclear ordnance security Gendarmerie ( Gendarmerie de la sécurité des armements nucléaires , GSAN) was created in 1964. It is directly subordinated to the Ministry of Armed Forces and plays a major role in the security chain of the nuclear devices. The main mission of this specific branch

6365-450: The fall of Napoleon, considered preferable to "gendarmerie". 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 spans three categories: These missions include: The Gendarmerie, while remaining part of the French armed forces , has been attached to the Ministry of the Interior since 2009. Criminal investigations are run under

6460-406: 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

6555-505: The former and 4,500 of the later, respectively. In 1804 the first Inspector General of Gendarmerie was appointed and a general staff established—based out of the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré in Paris. Subsequently, special gendarmerie units were created within the Imperial Guard for combat duties in French occupied Spain. Following the Second Restoration of 1815, the gendarmerie was reduced in numbers to about 18,000 and reorganised into departmental legions. Under King Louis Phillippe

6650-440: The functions of the police and the justice system were closely intertwined. Kings, lords, and high dignitaries rendered justice. The Constable of France succeeded the Grand Seneschal in 1191 in the exercise of military powers and military justice on behalf of the king. The Constable gathered under him lieutenants bearing the title Marshal of France who led royal troops into battle and judged their actions. Each marshal had

6745-434: The general population were rendered along with punishments in the Court of the Marshals which existed by 1317. These special forces would eventually be known as the maréchaussée since they worked for the various army marshals. These courts were itinerant, as they followed the army, lacked territorial jurisdiction and were composed of the marshal's particular provost and sergents . A second court that existed by 1321

6840-478: 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

6935-535: 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. The Mobile Gendarmerie ( Gendarmerie Mobile ), also named La Jaune ("The Yellow"),

7030-426: The king, they were therefore perceived as a force favoring the reforms of the French National Assembly . As a result, the Maréchaussée Royale was not disbanded but simply renamed as the gendarmerie nationale . Its personnel remained unchanged, and the functions of the force remained much as before. However, from this point, the gendarmerie, unlike the Maréchaussée , became a fully militarized force. During

7125-652: 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

7220-457: 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

7315-453: The marshal". One account in the history of a small town in western France reports how the terminology was undergoing a change there at the beginning of the 17th century. At that time, one could refer indistinguishably either to the " archer   of the provost" or " archer of the maréchaussée " for example, but by 1720 invariably the latter expression was used. With the Fall of

7410-652: The operation of the Gendarmerie at two levels: The Gendarmerie headquarters, called the Directorate-General of the National Gendarmerie ( Direction générale de la Gendarmerie nationale (DGGN))), long located in downtown Paris, relocated in 2012 to the southern suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux . The Directorate-General of the national gendarmerie includes: The main components of the organization are Departmental Gendarmerie, Mobile Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, Overseas Gendarmerie, five specialized Gendarmerie branches, Provost Gendarmerie and Intervention Group of

7505-548: The protective detail of the French President (the GSPR ). Its missions include counter-terrorism , hostage rescue , surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials and targeting of organized crime. Mar%C3%A9chauss%C3%A9e The Maréchaussée ( French for 'Marshalcy') were corps of soldiers in the armies of France initially put in charge of military policing and justice during

7600-569: 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

7695-458: 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,

7790-661: 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

7885-452: The revolutionary period, the main force responsible for policing was the National Guard . Although the Maréchaussée had been the main police force of the ancien regime , the gendarmerie was initially a full-time auxiliary to the National Guard militia. In 1791 the newly named gendarmerie nationale was grouped into 28 divisions, each commanded by a colonel responsible for three départements . In turn, two companies of gendarmes under

7980-465: The roads or encamped in the land. Francis I addressed the problem in a royal decision on 25 January 1536 (Edict of Paris) that extended the judicial authority of the maréchaussée to policing the countryside and main roads of the kingdom, taking on all highway crime regardless of whether the perpetrators were French soldiers or foreigners, military or civilian, vagabonds or residents. The variety of crimes falling under their jurisdiction increased over

8075-535: The succeeding fifty years. The expanded commissions were temporary at first until the 3 October 1544 edict put them into permanent competition with the local courts of the bailiffs and seneschals. However, the maréchaussées' ambit remained limited to the country outside the cities. The transformation of the role of the marshals' provosts to a provincial authority necessitated the appointment of new officers ( prévôts des armées ) to take over their former role of traveling with troops to repress military offenses. After

8170-468: The supervision of prosecutors or investigating magistrates . Gendarmerie members generally operate in uniform, and, only occasionally, in plainclothes. The Director-general of the Gendarmerie (DGGN) is appointed by the Council of Ministers , with the rank of Général d'Armée . The current Director-General is Général Christian Rodriguez who took office on November 1, 2019. The Director-General organizes

8265-624: The suppression of the Constabulary in 1626 by Louis XIII , the Constabulary and Marshalcy Tribunal was placed under the command of the Marshal of France . According to the Criminal Ordinance of 1670 under Louis XIV , certain crimes identified as "royal cases" were investigated by the Maréchaussée but judged by a chamber of the Parliament dealing with criminal matters, while the others, identified as "provost cases" ( cas prévôtaux ), were judged in first and last instance by

8360-632: 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

8455-452: 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

8550-625: 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

8645-493: Was in practice answerable to Le Blanc's office. The edict of March 1720 profoundly reorganized the Maréchaussée and accentuated its territorial nature. It created a provost court and a company of marshalcy in each of the thirty-six governments or provinces ( généralités ). Maréchaussée companies were separate with one in Lorraine being independent until 1767 after the region's incorporation into France. Le Blanc placed

8740-434: Was in the personal jurisdiction of the Constable and oversaw cases involving a point of honor ( point d'honneur ) or quarrels between soldiers regarding reputation, personal cases of the king's sergents d'armes and the conduct and service of the provosts of the marshals and their archers . The jurisdictions of the Constable and the marshals were itemized in the Ordinance of 1356. The tribunals were seated at

8835-464: Was killed in battle. This history was rediscovered in 1934, and Gallois de Fougières was then officially recorded as the first known gendarme to have died in the line of duty. His remains are now buried under the monument to the gendarmerie in Versailles . Under King Francis I ( r.  1515–1547 ), the Maréchaussée was merged with the Constabulary . The resulting force was also known as

8930-415: Was renamed the Gendarmerie nationale ( National Gendarmerie ). It is now one of the two national police forces of France, along with the National Police . The term marshalcy is from the French maréchaussée , which is derived from Old French mareschaucie , meaning "the marshalcy." This derives from mairichauciée   attested in 1287 meaning "royal household", and in 1465 as "the office of

9025-425: 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

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