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, ...

or gendarmery is a

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

forces,

border guards A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In ...

security forces Security forces are statutory organizations with internal security mandates. In the legal context of several nations, the term has variously denoted police and military units working in concert, or the role of military and paramilitary forces (s ...

, and

coast guards A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

component with jurisdiction in civil

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

. The term

maréchaussée The () were corps of soldiers in the armies of France initially put in charge of military policing and justice in the Middle Ages, and later extended to civilian responsibilities. They gradually coalesced into a police force with jurisdicti ...

(or marshalcy) may also be used (''e.g.'',

Royal Marechaussee The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee ( nl, Koninklijke Marechaussee, abbreviated to KMar) is the national gendarmerie force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, performing military and civilian police duties. It is also one of the two national pol ...

) but is now uncommon. Although pioneered in France, the concept of a gendarmerie was adopted by several other European nations during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. It remains an integral part of the military establishment in most Francophone states and territories. A somewhat related phenomenon has been the formation of

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

units which fall under the authority of civilian police agencies. Since these are not strictly

military forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, however, they are not considered gendarmerie.

List of active gendarmeries

}
it, Forza di Gendarmeria Europea
pt, Força de Gendarmaria Europeia
es, Fuerza de Gendarmería Europea , Formed by seven members of the European Union: France, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Spain. The

European Gendarmerie Force The European Gendarmerie Force (EUROGENDFOR) is an operational, pre-organised, and rapidly deployable intervention force, exclusively comprising elements of several European police forces with military status of the Parties in order to perform all ...

was created as an intervention force at the service of the EU, the NATO, the UN, the OSCE, or other "ad hoc" alliances. It is characterized by its robustness, and quick deployability, and it specializes in the management of crisis areas. Lithuania is currently a Partner Member, and Turkey has Observer status. ,

List of active gendarmeries

Ranks

List of former gendarmeries

See also

Notes

References