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| National Police Police nationale | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Motto | Pro patria vigilant[1] (They are watching for their country) |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 23 April 1941[2][3] (unification of existing units) |
| Preceding agency |
|
| Employees | 145,200 (2015) |
| Annual budget | €12.64 billion (2021) |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency | France |
| Operations jurisdiction | France |
| Size | 551,695 km2 |
| Population | 67.2 million |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Overseen by | General Directorate of the National Police |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | Ministry of the Interior |
| Child agency |
|
| Directorates | List of Directorates
|
| Facilities | |
| Vehicles | 31 263 (2021) |
| Helicopters | 0 (seeSécurité Civile) |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheNational Police (French:Police nationale,pronounced[pɔlisnɑsjɔnal]), formerly known as theSûreté nationale, is one of two nationalpolice forces ofFrance, the other being theNational Gendarmerie. The National Police is the country's main civillaw enforcement agency, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. By contrast, the National Gendarmerie has primary jurisdiction in smaller towns, as well as in rural and border areas. The National Police comes under the jurisdiction of theMinistry of the Interior and has about 145,200 employees (as of 2015). Young French citizens can fulfill their optionalnational service (Service national universel) in the national police force.[4][5]
The national police force was created on 14 August 1941, under theVichy regime, by a decree signed by the head of government,Philippe Pétain. This decree implements the law of 23 April 1941, creating the Police nationale: the forces of the Sûreté nationale (with the former services of the Sûreté générale, which became the Sûreté nationale in 1934, and the municipal police units, which became "étatisées" for the police forces of towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants) and the police services of the Préfecture de police in Paris are thus united. It was dissolved after theLiberation, by order of the Provisional Government of the French Republic on 16 November 1944. It was revived by Law no. 66-492 of 9 July 1966, on the organization of the police in France. This law unified the Sûreté Nationale and the Préfecture de Police.
The National Police operates mostly in cities and large towns. In that context, it conducts security operations such aspatrols, traffic control and identity checks. Under the orders and supervision ofinvestigating magistrates of the judiciary, it conducts criminal inquiries and serves search warrants. It also maintains specific services ('judicial police') for these inquiries.
The National Police is commanded by the Director-General (directeur général de la police nationale), who is currentlyLouis Laugier. The Director-General is personally in command of the General Directorate of the National Police (French:Direction Générale de la Police nationale) (DGPN) and responsible to the Minister of the Interior.[6]
ThePréfet de Police, currentlyLaurent Nuñez, manages thePréfecture de Police de Paris that includes all police and security services inParis, the three neighbouring departments of the'la petite couronne' region (Hauts-de-Seine,Seine-Saint-Denis andVal-de-Marne), and the airports ofRoissy,Orly andLe Bourget. The Paris Police Prefecture is a separate law enforcement jurisdiction. While its officers belong to the National Police, their chief (the Police Prefect) acts completely independently from the Director-General of the National Police, reporting directly to the French Minister of the Interior. The elevated status of the Paris Police Prefect is also underlined by the fact that he/she is also head of theÎle-de-France Defence and Security Zone (Zone de défense et de sécurité Île-de-France). The police forces in the other departments of theÎle-de-France region are under the direct command of aPréfet (Department Prefect), being himself under the supervision of thePréfet de Police as far as the active on-the-field police work is concerned, and under the control of the Director-General for the rest.
The National Police is sub-divided into (central) directorates, which are further composed of sub-directorates:
As of 1 July 2008, the following two National Police directorates:
were merged into one single domesticintelligence agency titled theDirection centrale du renseignement intérieur (DCRI). The DCRI was placed directly under theMinistry of the Interior.[10]
The National Police is divided into threecorps, in the terminology of theFrench Civil Service, in ascending order of seniority:
All the ranks insignia may be worn either on the shoulders or on the chest. In the latter they are square-shaped.
Prior to 1995 two civilian corps ("Inspecteurs" and "Enquêteurs") existed in which plainclothes officers were given the training and authority to conduct investigations. The closest American equivalent is thedetective branch.
Admission requirements for the competition:35 years old maximum on January 1st of the competition year
The entrance exam has 3 stages:
To pass the entrance exam, you must pass several tests: the eligibility test, the pre-admission test and the admission test.
The eligibility test consists of written exams (general knowledge, solving a practical case, law and criminal procedure tests). If this test is passed, you must then take the pre-admission tests (physical exercise tests), and if this stage is completed, the competition will end with the admission test (psychotechnical tests, interview with the jury).
Once accepted, the paid training for police officers at the police academy lasts 18 months.
Prior to the Second World War and the formation of the Police Nationale, the French police used a variety of side arms, both revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, notably comprising theMAS 1873, theMAS 1892, theFN M1900,Ruby pistols, and a variety of privately purchased weapons.
Immediately after theSecond World War, a variety of military side arms were issued, often captured weapons provided by the Army or French-produced German-designed weapons, such as theMauser HSc or theWalther P38 for sidearms, and theKarabiner 98k rifle, to the now unified national force.
In 1951, a standardisation was performed on theRR 51 pistol[11] in7.65×17mm and on theMAS-38 andMAT-49 for submachine guns. From 1953, in the context of heightening violence of theAlgeria War, CRS units were upgraded to the9×19mmMAC Mle 1950.
In the early 1960s, large-caliber revolvers were introduced, culminating with the introduction of theManurhin MR 73 and theRuger SP101. In the 80s, a process to standardize revolvers was initiated. The 1970s also saw the introduction of automatic rifles and carbines (such as theSIG SG 543) to fend off heavily armed organised crime and terrorism.
In the 2000s, the police started switching to semi-automatic pistols and to the9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. For some years, the standard sidearm in the National Police and theGendarmerie Nationale was thePAMAS G1, which was French licensed and made. In 2003 both agencies made the biggest small arms contract since the Second World War[12] for about 250,000SIG Sauer Pro SP 2022s, a custom-tailored variant of the SIG Pro, replacing the PAMAS-G1 and several other pistols in service. The weapons are planned to stay in service until the year 2022, hence the weapon name. The police purchased more pistols in late 2018 possibly indicating they intend them to be used beyond 2022.[13]
For greater threats the police use slightly modifiedRuger Mini-14s purchased in the 1970s. More modern long guns likeRemington 870,HK UMP andHK G36 are also issued.
Some sources have claimed the use of theSpectre M4 by the French National Police.
While the vast majority of vehicles are screen printed French brands (mainly Renault, Citroën and Peugeot), some service vehicles are provided by Ford and Opel. Plainclothes officers or specialised branches use vehicles from a variety of manufacturers.
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According to data from the Ministry of the Interior released in 2021, the number of police officers killed in the line of duty has significantly decreased since the 1980s. Indeed, 36 police officers died while on duty in the 2010s, compared with 88 in the 1980s[14].
In France, theInspectorate General of the National Police has recorded individuals killed or injured during police operations since 2018[15].
The collective "Désarmons-les" maintains a list of people killed by law enforcement since 2012. They record 437 deaths.[16] Most of the victims areracialized, particularly Black and Arab[17], which reflects theracist dimension of the institution[18]. The number of deaths is increasing, with 2024 being a particularly deadly year[19][20]. This phenomenon is exacerbated by police impunity[21].
