France
| Author | Thomas Kurian |
| Pages | 395-408 |
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Official country name: French Republic (République Française)
Capital: Paris
Geographic description: Country on the west coast of western Europe
Population: 60,656,178 (est. 2005)
Given the fundamental mission of police forces as being law enforcement, a progressive evolution throughout history has permitted the emergence of police as an institution, vis-à-vis justice and army. At the same time, the necessity of maintaining public peace and order has been used as a tool by kings in their effort to impose their preeminence over the lords, bishops, and municipalities. In that sense, the institution of provosts (judge, military governor, and police official) by Henri I in 1032 can be considered as a first step. However, the royal agents have cohabited for centuries with representatives of the local lordships. In 1254 Louis IX reorganized the police and institutes the Royal Watch. In the countryside, insecurity being chiefly caused by former soldiers, the military justice of the marshals took charge of public tranquillity step by step, and in 1544 its troops, the maréchaussée, were organized by François I and given jurisdiction over ordinary crime. It was the ancestor of the Gendarmerie (gens d'armes means "armed people"). In 1667 Louis XIV instituted the general lieutenant of police, a judge and police chief, who retained regulative power over matters under his jurisdiction in the city of Paris. This institution was extended to other cities.
During the French Revolution elected police chiefs (commissaries) were instituted in all cities wherever necessary. In 1796 a Ministry of General Police was created, and in 1800 a Préfet de Police in Paris. In rural areas the Gendarmerie was restructured in 1790 with permanent stations. Its present basic authority is a decree of May 20, 1903. On November 17, 1808, the Napoleon Code of Criminal Information (Code d'instruction criminelle) regulated criminal investigations by the police and created the Office of Judicial Police Officer.
At the beginning of the twentieth century the administration of police in the most important cities passed from the mayor to the state, and mobile criminal squads were created. Two distinct administrations were placed in charge of police duties: the Prefecture of Police in Paris and the National Security for the rest of the territory. They were unified in 1966 under the appellation of National Police; however, the Paris prefecture has maintained a broad autonomy. Nine years before, on
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December 31, 1957, the Penal Procedure Code took the place of the Napoleon Code and gave a new legal framework to police criminal investigations. The orientation of that text, more favorable to the rights of the individual, was reinforced by the law of June 15, 2000. More recently, a law of August 29, 2002, for internal security, followed by a law of March 18, 2003, have reorganized and modernized the police force to deal more efficiently with an increase of crime.
Although France is a centralized country, police forces are divided as a result of historical evolution into two main law enforcement agencies: National Police, a civilian police force that holds jurisdiction essentially in cities of 10,000 inhabitants and over, and Gendarmerie, a military police force, holding jurisdiction mainly in the countryside. In addition, there are municipal police forces, with limited powers and some other bodies with some police prerogatives.
In France, the National Police in under the Ministry of Interior. The Direction Générale de la Police Nationale (National Police General Directorate) headed by a prefect constitutes one of the branches of that department and the general director takes his orders directly from the minister. On January 1, 2003, it employed 144,356 agents. It is divided into central, regional, and local units.
At the central level, three directorates are in charge of administration and management:
Administration Directorate, in charge of personnel, finances, budget, equipment
Training Directorate, in charge of training programs and schools
General Inspectorate, in charge of control and discipline, investigates the misconduct and offenses committed by members of the force
Eight central directorates or services coordinate the territorial units and act directly through their own active departments.
The Central Directorate of Public Security is in charge of public order and general prevention and suppression of crime. Having no central operational units, it manages and controls 79,124 local and territorial police officers both in uniform and plainclothes. It administers police stations in local districts in mainland France and overseas territories as well.
The Compagnies Républicaines de Securité (Republican Security Companies) consists of 15,106 mobile uniformed military-like troops performing public order missions (antiriot interventions and securitization of crowds, especially in case of mass demonstrations), traffic circulation surveillance on highways, and mountain rescue. Their central headquarters, previously a branch of the Public Security Division, became autonomous in 1985. It is divided into bureaus: Staff, Budget, Equipment, General Affairs, Training, Operations, and Transmissions. The companies themselves are located at a regional level.
The Criminal Investigations Central Directorate is in charge of prevention and suppression of serious criminal activities. Its 4,354 agents participate in criminal procedure within the framework of the code and under justice control. In contrast to the preceding directorates, it does not only perform liaison, coordination, and command regional departments but also directs operative units with national territorial jurisdiction, specialized in particularly dangerous criminal categories, and both collects information and performs interventions (National Central Offices including Gendarmerie, customs, and treasury officers). It is divided into four subdirectorates.
Criminal Affairs
Operations:
National Central Office for the Suppression of Organized Crime (Répression du banditisme), with four (and eventually five) local detachments called Search and Intervention Squads
National Central Office for the Suppression of Illicit Drug Trafficking
National Antiterrorist Division, which includes the National Central Office for the Control of Firearms and Explosives Trafficking
National Central Office to Combat Traffic of Cultural Goods
National Central Office for the Suppression of Traffic in Human Beings
Economic and Financial Affairs
Offenses against Business Law:
National Central Office for the Suppression of Major Financial Crimes
National Central Office for the Suppression of Counterfeit Currencies
National Central Office to Combat Crime against Information and Communication Technologies (cybercrime)
The Forensic Science and Identification Subdirectorate (Sous-direction de la Police technique et scientifique) manages five police laboratories (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille, and Toulouse). The Central Identification Department (Identité Judiciaire) runs the national fingerprints computerized index file. The Central Criminal Documentation
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Unit operates the central index file, the wanted persons index file, circulation of identification or arrest messages, the stolen vehicles index file, and the National Automated Genetic Prints (DNA).
The central director of criminal police heads the French Interpol National Central Bureau. A Central Operative Police Cooperation Unit regroups Police, Gendarmerie, and Customs. A justice liaison uses Interpol, Schengen, and Europol cooperation and channels Survey and Control Training.
Following the 2002 and 2003 laws on internal security a reorganization plan of this directorate is on its way. It will essentially create a new Central National Office for the search of wanted people and fugitives and a new database at the National Central Office for the suppression of serious financial crime. There are changes at the regional level as well.
The Central Intelligence Directorate (CID; Direction Centrale des Renseignements Généraux) collects intelligence on political, economic, and social matters. Its duty of surveillance of political parties has been abandoned since 1995, and now it concentrates its efforts on foreigners, violence, external relations, and overseas territories. The directorate also holds jurisdiction over gambling and racing. It is divided into four subdirectorates:
Research and analysis, in relation with external sections
Social upheavals, cities and suburbs, social analysis (violence in the cities), communication, and financial research
Racing and gambling (not only surveillance but also criminal investigations)
Methods and staff (3,076 agents)
Changes were implemented in 2004 that improved the efficiency of the directorate concerning urban violence and antiterrorism action.
The Border Police Central Directorate (Direction Centrale de la Police aux Frontières) is in charge of ports, airports, and border police. It also holds jurisdiction over surveillance and suppression of illicit immigration. For that purpose, a Central National Office for the Repression of Illicit Immigration and Employment of Illicit Migrants, similar to those of CID, has been instituted within this directorate. It also includes the Legal and International Affairs Subdirectorate, directly under the director's authority, an operations room, and a national escort unit in charge of accompanying illicit...
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