National Police (France)

The National Police (), formerly known as the , is one of two national police forces, along with the National Gendarmerie, and the main civil law enforcement agency of France, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. The other main agency is the military , with primary jurisdiction in smaller towns and rural and border areas. The National Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior and has about 145,699 employees (in April 2008). Young French citizens can fulfill the mandatory service "Service national universel (SNU)" in the police force.
The National Police operates mostly in large cities and towns. In that context:
Organization.
The service is commanded by the Director-General () who is currently Jean-Marc Falcone. The Director-General is personally in command of the General Directorate of the National Police () (DGPN) and responsible to the Minister of the Interior.
The "Préfet de Police", currently Didier Lallement, manages the "Préfecture de Police de Paris" which includes all police and security services in Paris, the three neighbouring départements of the "'la petite couronne"' region: Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne and the airports of Roissy, Orly and Le 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 the head of the Île-de-France Defence and Serurity Zone ("Zone de défense et de sécurité Île-de-France"). The police forces in the other départements of the Île-de-France region are under the direct command of a Préfet (Département Prefect), being himself under the supervision of the "Préfet 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 then sub-divided into (central) directorates which are further composed of sub-directorates :
Former directorates.
As of 1 July 2008, the following two National Police directorates:
were merged into one single domestic intelligence agency titled the "Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur" (DCRI). The DCRI was placed directly under the Ministry of the Interior.
Ranks.
The National Police is divided into three "corps", in the terminology of the French 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 the detective branch.
Equipment.
Weapons.
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 the MAS 1873, the MAS 1892, the FN M1900, Ruby pistols, and a variety of privately purchased weapons.
Immediately after the Second 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 the Mauser HSc or the Walther P38 for sidearms, and the Karabiner 98k rifle, to the now unified national force.
In 1951, a standardisation was performed on the RR 51 pistol in 7.65×17mm and on the MAS-38 and MAT-49 for submachine guns. From 1953, in the context of heightening violence of the Algeria War, CRS units were upgraded to the 9×19mm MAC Mle 1950.
In the early 1960s, large-caliber revolvers were introduced, culminating with the introduction of the Manurhin MR 73 and the Ruger SP101. In the 80s, a process to standardize revolvers was initiated. The 1970s also saw the introduction of automatic rifles and carbines (such as the SIG SG 543) to fend off heavily armed organised crime and terrorism.
In the 2000s, the police started switching to semi-automatic pistols and to the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. For some years, the standard sidearm in the National Police and the Gendarmerie Nationale was the PAMAS G1, which was French licensed and made. In 2003 both agencies made the biggest small arms contract since the Second World War for about 250,000 SIG 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.
For greater threats the police use slightly modified Ruger Mini-14s purchased in the 1970s. More modern long guns like Remington 870, HK UMP and HK G36 are also issued.
Some sources have claimed the use of the Spectre M4 by the French National Police.
Cars.
While the vast majority of vehicles are screen printed French brand (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.