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GIGN
The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (such as French embassies in war-torn countries), and targeting organized crime. Established in 1973 and becoming operational in 1974, the GIGN was initially created as a relatively small tactical unit specialized in sensitive hostage situations, but has since grown into a larger force with expanded responsibilities and capabilities. It is now composed of nearly 1,000 operators: around 400 operators based in Satory, near Versailles in the Paris area and approximately 600 operators in fourteen regional GIGN branches called AGIGNs (), located in metropolitan France or in the French overseas territories. The unit shares jurisdiction of French sovereign territory with the special response units of the National Police,Each of the two French Nati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Prouteau
Christian Prouteau (born 7 April 1944) is a retired French military officer in the National Gendarmerie, French National Gendarmerie. He was involved in the organisation of the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group, GIGN (of which he was prominent commander in) and the Groupe de Sécurité de la Présidence de la République, GSPR. Biography Prouteau graduated from École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, Saint-Cyr, the French army's officers' school, in 1969. After a stint in the army, he transferred to the National Gendarmerie and graduated from École des officiers de la gendarmerie nationale, the Gendarmerie's Officers school. Posted to a Mobile Gendarmerie squadron (ie troop) he became an instructor in commando techniques. In 1973, in response to the Munich massacre, French authorities decided to create an elite unit capable of countering acts of terrorism. Prouteau was selected to organise National Gendarmerie Intervention Group, GIGN. Prouteau lead GIGN for 9 years, le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ouvéa Cave Hostage Taking
The Ouvéa cave hostage taking occurred from 22 April 1988 to 5 May 1988 on the island of Ouvéa, New Caledonia, a south Pacific archipelago under control of France. During the stand-off and seizure of a brigade of gendarmerie, members of an independence movement, the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front, killed four gendarmes (including two unarmed) and took 27 unarmed gendarmes hostages (weapons were in the armory during the night), later also taking hostage a public prosecutor who had been sent to negotiate, seven members of the French GIGN military unit and a regular army lieutenant. They demanded talks with the French government about independence for New Caledonia from France. In previous years, about ten gendarmes had been killed in New Caledonia in connection with the independence movement, also some Kanaks had been killed by policiers and gendarmes as well like Richard Kamuda in 1975, Théodore Daye in 1980, Eloi Machoro and Marcel Nonaro in 1985 and a young K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air France Flight 8969
Air France Flight 8969 (Operation Rock Climber) was an Air France flight that was hijacked on 24 December 1994 by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers. The militants murdered three passengers and their intention was either to detonate the aircraft over the Eiffel Tower or the Tour Montparnasse in Paris. When the aircraft reached Marseille, the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN), a tier one counterterrorism and hostage rescue unit of the French National Gendarmerie, stormed the plane and killed all four hijackers. The incident led to Air France halting their flights to Algeria until 2004, two years after the end of the Algerian Civil War. Background Algeria was in a state of civil war at the time of the hijacking. Aircraft flying to Algeria faced the possibility of missile attacks. As a result, Air France's flights to Algeria had crews composed entirely of people who volunteered for the route. Aircraft and crew The airc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Gendarmerie
The National Gendarmerie ( ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police (France), National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Minister of the Interior (France), Ministry of the Interior, with additional duties from the Ministry of Armed Forces (France), Ministry of Armed Forces. Its responsibilities include policing smaller towns, suburbs and rural areas, crowd and riot control, and criminal investigation, including cybercrime. By contrast, the National Police is a civilian law enforcement agency that is in charge of policing cities and larger towns. Because of its military status, the Gendarmerie also fulfills a range of military and defence missions. The Gendarmerie has a strength of around 102,269 people (as of 2018). The Gendarmerie is the heir of the , the oldest police force in France, dating back to the Middle Ages. The Gendarmerie has influenced the culture and tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cross For Military Valour
The Cross for Military Valour () is a military decoration of France. It recognizes an individual bestowed a Mention in Dispatches earned for showing valour in presence of an enemy, in theatres of operations which are not subject to the award of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures (Cross of War for Foreign Theatres of Operations). The Cross for Military Valour is usually awarded for security or peacekeeping operations, always outside the French territory. History It was established in 1956 to reward soldiers, sailors, and airmen serving in Algeria who had committed acts of valour or gallantry in combat. Algeria was a department of France at the time, so it was not considered a declared war but peacekeeping operations on French soil. Therefore, the War Cross for foreign operational theatres, which had been awarded for valiant service in Indochina, was not considered appropriate. ''Médaille de la Valeur Militaire'' was created on 11 April 1956 with a fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Research And Intervention Brigade
A Search and Intervention Brigade ( (BRI) (), Investigation and Intervention Brigade or Anti-Gang Brigade) is a unit of the French National Police. The first units were formed in 1964 and carried out their tasks under the command of the Paris prefecture. BRIs are specialized in serious criminal cases such as armed robbery and kidnappings. They typically attempt to catch offenders in the act after monitoring their activities, a technique that was first experimented with in the 1960s by the then-new Paris BRI. They use a mix of traditional techniques and modern technology to collect and archive data about banditry. Although most of the pictures illustrating this article show uniformed officers (of the Paris BRI-PP) during a hostage-rescue public demonstration, most BRI missions are undertaken by plain clothed officers. There are now more than 15 BRI units, located in France's major cities. The first of them, the Paris BRI (or BRI-PP for ''Préfecture de Police''), was created in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Police (France)
The National Police (, ), formerly known as the , is one of two national police forces of France, the other being the National Gendarmerie. The National Police is the country's main civil law 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 the Minister of the Interior (France), Ministry of the Interior and has about 145,200 employees (as of 2015). Young French citizens can fulfill their optional Civil conscription, national service () in the national police force. The national police force was created on 14 August 1941, under the Vichy France, Vichy 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Overseas France
Overseas France (, also ) consists of 13 France, French territories outside Europe, mostly the remnants of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonisation. Most are part of the European Union. "Overseas France" is a collective name; while used in everyday life in France, it is not an administrative designation in its own right. Instead, the five Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas regions have exactly the same Administrative divisions of France, administrative status as the thirteen Metropolitan France, metropolitan regions; the five Overseas collectivity, overseas collectivities are semi-autonomous; and New Caledonia is an autonomous territory. Overseas France includes island territories in the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Indian Ocean, Indian oceans, French Guiana on the South American continent, and several list of Antarctic and Subantarctic islands, peri-Antarctic islan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the European regions of France is used in everyday life in France but has no administrative meaning, with the exception that only Metropolitan France is part of the Schengen Area. Indeed, the overseas departments and regions of France, overseas regions have exactly the same administrative divisions of France, administrative status as the metropolitan regions. Metropolitan France comprises mainland France and Corsica, as well as nearby List_of_islands_of_France#Islands_of_metropolitan_France, French islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea waters. Its borders have undergone significant territorial evolution of France, changes over the centuries, particularly in the east, but have remained unaltered since 1947 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, fourth-most populous city in the European Union and the List of cities proper by population density, 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2022. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, culture, Fashion capital, fashion, and gastronomy. Because of its leading role in the French art, arts and Science and technology in France, sciences and its early adoption of extensive street lighting, Paris became known as the City of Light in the 19th century. The City of Paris is the centre of the Île-de-France region, or Paris Region, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 inhabitants in January 2023, or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Versailles, Yvelines
Versailles ( , ) is a commune in the department of the Yvelines, Île-de-France, known worldwide for the Château de Versailles and the gardens of Versailles, which is designated an UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Located in the western suburbs of the French capital, from the centre of Paris, Versailles is a wealthy suburb of Paris with a service-based economy and is a major tourist destination. According to the 2017 census, the population of the city is 85,862, down from a peak of 94,145 in 1975.Population en historique depuis 1968 , INSEE A founded by order of King |
Milieu (organized Crime In France)
Organized crime in France is primarily based in major cities like Marseille, Grenoble, Paris, and Lyon. It is often referred to as in France.Lalam, Nacer"How organised is organised crime in France?"in ''Organised Crime in Europe: Concepts, Patterns and Control Policies in the European Union and Beyond'' From the 1900s to the late 1930s, ''le milieu'' primarily engaged in prostitution, bookmaking, fencing, and hijacking. Favored criminal activity in France turned to bank robbery, drug trafficking, and smuggling from 1940 to the late 1970s. The 1980s saw a resurgence of large-scale bank robberies and heists. From 1990 to 2000, criminal organizations established complex extortion rings in Marseille extending to Aix-en-Provence and the greater French Riviera. Since 2002, ''Le Milieu'' is known for, in addition to its extortion rings, large counterfeiting and white-collar crime operations. Due to increased financial regulation, ''Le Milieu'' has collectively pushed to integrat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
