The Maritime Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie maritime) is a component of the French
National Gendarmerie
The National Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie nationale, ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Mini ...
under operational control of the chief of staff of the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
. It employs 1,157 personnel and operates around thirty patrol boats and high-speed motorboats distributed on the littoral waterways of France.
Like their land-based colleagues the Gendarmes Maritime are military personnel carry out policing operations in addition to their primary role as a coast guard service. They also carry out
provost duties within the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
.
The uniforms and insignia of the Gendarmerie Maritime are very similar to those of the French Navy, but the ranks used are those of the rest of the Gendarmerie (which are the same as the traditional ranks of the French Cavalry).
Mission
The mission of the Maritime Gendarmerie is as follows:
*
Maritime safety
Maritime safety as part of and overlapping with water safety is concerned with the protection of life (search and rescue) and property through regulation, management and technology development of all forms of waterborne transportation. The execut ...
and of general police force duties in the territorial waters and
EEZ, under the authority of the
maritime prefect.
*
Criminal Investigation Department
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...
under the authority of public prosecutor.
* Protection of the naval shore establishments.
*
Search and rescue
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
.
Organisation
The Maritime Gendarmerie is commanded by a colonel who is assisted by a staff located in Paris. The coastguard is articulated in 3 groupings, 7 companies and 64 units (brigades of research, brigades of monitoring of the littoral, group of safety of the protected zones, group of monitoring of intervention and reinforcement, patrol craft, coastal high-speed motorboats of maritime surveillance) whose geographical distribution is as follows:
* Metropolitan France :
** grouping of the English Channel and the North Sea in Cherbourg (2 companies)
** grouping of the Atlantic in Brest (4 companies);
** grouping of the Mediterranean in Toulon (2 companies);
**company from Paris to the Career-on-Seine (under the authority of the state major);
** national instruction center of the GM (C.N.I.G.M) in Toulon.
* Overseas:
** Guadeloupe: 1 patrol craft; (''Violette'' P722)
** French Guiana: 2 high-speed 20-metre motorboats (''Charente'' P613 and ''Organabo'' P624);
** Mayote: 1 patrol craft (20 metre high-speed motorboat - ''Odet'' P611);
** French Polynesia: 1 patrol craft (''Jasmin'' P723) and a brigade;
** New Caledonia: 1 high-speed motorboat of 20 meters (''Dumbéa'' P606) and 2 brigades;
** Martinique: 1 coastal harbor tug (RPC) ''Maïto'' (A636)
** Reunion: 1 high-speed 20-meter patrol boat (''Verdon'' P602)
Patrol boats
See also
*
Water Police
Water police, also called harbor patrols, port police, marine/maritime police, nautical patrols, bay constables, river police, or maritime law enforcement or coastal police are police officers, usually a department of a larger police organizat ...
*
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...
References
External links
Official Site of the Gendarmerie Maritime on Ministry of DefenseFrench only
Official Site of the Gendarmerie Maritime on Ministry of InteriorFrench only
French only
{{Coast guards
Coast guards
French Gendarmerie
Gendarmerie
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
Maritime safety in France
Port law enforcement agencies
Maritime law enforcement agencies