What is the difference between the police and the gendarmerie?
Sarah Duran
Updated on May 03, 2026
What is the difference between the police and the gendarmerie?
The Police Nationale is responsible for Paris and other urban areas whereas the gendarmerie is responsible for small towns and rural areas with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants.
What is the meaning of gendarmerie?
1 : a member of a body of soldiers especially in France serving as an armed police force for the maintenance of public order. 2 : police officer.
What are the ranks in the French gendarmerie?
Comparative ranks of French police services
| # | Police nationale | Gendarmerie nationale |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Directeur général de la police nationale | Général d’armée |
| 2. | Directeur des Services Actifs | Général de corps d’armée |
| 3. | Inspecteur Général | Général de division |
| 4. | Contrôleur Général | Général de brigade |
Is GIGN police or military?
Motto and values. Although GIGN, as part of the French military, has been deployed to external combat zones, it is primarily centered in France, engaging in peacetime operations as a special police force. Respect for human life, combined with fire discipline, has always been taught to group members since its inception.
What is the role of the gendarmerie?
In France and some Francophone nations, the gendarmerie is a branch of the armed forces responsible for internal security in parts of the territory (primarily in rural areas and small towns in the case of France) with additional duties as military police for the armed forces.
Does the US have a gendarmerie?
Unlike some countries that have such police forces — notably Italy with its Carabinieri or France with its Gendarmerie — the United States does not have stability police.
Is the National Guard a gendarmerie?
During 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.
What is Officer de la Paix?
British English: police officer /pəˈliːs ˌɒfɪsə/ NOUN. A police officer is a member of the police force.
Does the GIGN use the Famas?
The primary assault rifles used by GIGN are the SIG 550, 551, and 552. The 550 and 551 are equipped with Hensoldt 6×42 BL optical sights. The standard French military rifle, the FAMAS, is available, too. GIGN also uses an array of shotguns.
Which countries have a gendarmerie?
Some of the more prominent modern gendarmerie organizations include the French National Gendarmerie, Spanish Civil Guard, the Romanian Jandarmeria, Algerian National Gendarmerie, Argentine National Gendarmerie, Burkinese National Gendarmerie, Italian Carabinieri, Chilean Carabineros, Moldovan Carabinieri, Royal …
What is a French police officer called?
Synonyms, crossword answers and other related words for FRENCH POLICE OFFICER [gendarme]