View source for Law enforcement in France

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[[File:Police Nationale in France 19.jpg|thumb|French policeman with van and a car]]
[[File:DADVSI protest 07954.jpg|thumb|Both French National Police and French Gendarmerie Nationale]]

'''Law enforcement in France''' is centralized at the national level. Recently, legislation has allowed local governments to hire their own police officers which are called the ''[[Municipal Police (France)|police municipale]]''.<ref name="Dammer & Albanese"/>

There are two national police forces, called the "''[[National Police (France)|Police nationale]]''{{-"}} and "''[[National Gendarmerie|Gendarmerie nationale]]''{{-"}}. The [[Prefecture of Police of Paris]] provides policing services directly to Paris as a subdivision of France's [[Minister of the Interior (France)|Ministry of the Interior]]. Within these national forces, only certain designated police officers have the power to conduct criminal investigations, which are supervised by [[Inquisitorial system|investigative magistrate]]s.

==History==
Law enforcement has a long history dating back to AD 570 when [[watchman (law enforcement)|night watch]] systems were commonplace.<ref name="Dammer & Albanese">Dammer, H. R. and Albanese, J. S. (2014). ''Comparative Criminal Justice Systems'' (5th ed.). Wadesworth Cengage learning: Belmont, CA. {{ISBN|978-1-285-06786-5}}</ref>{{clarify|date=November 2015}}

==Organizations==

===National agencies===
{{Main|French National Police|French Gendarmerie}}
[[File:CIE-Deauville Brigades.jpg|thumbnail|French ''gendarmes''|alt=At the side of a road, in the foreground, French gendarmes and, in the background, a Gendarmerie office.]]

France has two national [[police|police forces]]:<ref name="Dammer & Albanese"/>{{rp|77}}

* The '''''[[French National Police|National Police]]''''' (''Police nationale''), formerly called the "''[[Sûreté]]''", is considered a civilian police force. Its origins date back to 1812 and was created by [[Eugène François Vidocq]]. In 1966, its name was officially changed to "''Police Nationale''".<ref name="Dammer & Albanese"/>{{page needed|date=December 2020}} It has primary responsibility for major cities and large urban areas. The ''Police Nationale'' are under the control of the Ministry of the Interior; its strength is roughly 149,000.<ref name="Dammer & Albanese"/>{{rp|106}} The [[Paris Police Prefecture]], directly controlled by the French [[Minister of the Interior (France)]], who are assisted by the "[[:fr:Direction de la prévention, de la sécurité et de la protection|Direction de la Prévention, de la Sécurité et de la Protection]]" (DPSP) (Prevention, Security and Protection Directorate) is composed of Agents with municipal police powers<ref>{{cite web |date=2016-01-08 |title=Le terme "police municipale" est-il tabou pour Anne Hidalgo? |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/eric-aziere/le-terme-police-municipale-est-il-tabou-pour-anne-hidalgo_b_8937554.html |access-date=2020-12-01 |website=Le HuffPost |language=fr}}</ref> titled inspecteurs de sécurité (Security Inspectors).<ref>{{cite web |date=2012-06-18 |title=Codes |url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do;jsessionid=BCFE2EF8DCF619E5A0962C7EB22BA511.tpdila20v_3?idSectionTA=LEGISCTA000025507674&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000025503132&dateTexte=20120618 |access-date=2020-12-01 |website=Légifrance |language=fr}}</ref> This is one of the few exceptions to the General Directorate's exclusive control.
* The '''''[[French Gendarmerie|National Gendarmerie]]''''' (''Gendarmerie nationale'') is part of the French armed forces. It has the primary responsibility for policing smaller towns and rural areas as well as the armed forces and military installations, airport security and shipping ports. Being a military force, the gendarmerie has a highly centralized organization structure. It is under the control of both the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior (as far as its civil duties are concerned).<ref name="Dammer & Albanese"/>{{page needed|date=December 2020}} The Gendarmerie's origin dates back to 1306 when King Philippe le Bel (Philip the Fair) formed the first mounted military police force called the "''[[Maréchaussée]]''".<ref name="Dammer & Albanese"/>{{rp|105}} Between 1697 and 1699, King Louis XIV asserted his authority over police in France and the ''Maréchaussée'' became the formal law enforcement arm of the country.<ref name="Dammer & Albanese"/>{{rp|105}} In February 1791, it was renamed ''gendarmerie nationale'' by the revolutionary government of France.<ref name="Dammer & Albanese"/>{{page needed|date=December 2020}} It includes a coast guard agency, the [[Maritime Gendarmerie]] (''Gendarmerie maritime''). Today, there are about 102,000 ''gendarmes'' in France.<ref name="Dammer & Albanese"/>{{page needed|date=December 2020}}
Their main tasks include the fight against drug trafficking, terrorism, gang activities, damages to property and persons, riots, illegal immigration, money laundering and road traffic offenses, maintaining public safety, securing important events, solving criminal cases, helping and rescuing victims of human-made and natural disasters and for the Gendarmerie only, the surveillance of some important infrastructures, like airports, nuclear power plants and military sites.

=== Other agencies ===

====National level====
[[File:Peugeot 508 et 308 (Douane).jpg|thumb|Cars of the ''Customs administration'', at a [[Autoroutes of France|French toll]]]]
*The '''''[[General Directorate for Internal Security]]''''' (''Direction générale de la Sécurité Intérieure'' or ''DGSI'') came into existence in 2008, initially as the '''Central Directorate of Internal Intelligence''' (''Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur'' (''DCRI'')). The DCRI combined two services of the National Police HQ. The [[Direction centrale des renseignements généraux|Central Directorate for General Intelligence]] (''Direction Centrale des Renseignements généraux'' (''RG'')) was tasked with intelligence data gathering, classification and analysis. The [[Direction de la surveillance du territoire|Directorate for Surveillance of the Territory]] (''Direction de la surveillance du territoire'' (''DST'')) was a plainclothes operational service tasked with counterespionage, counterterrorism and economic security. In 2014 the DCRI was taken out of the structure of the National Police and directly subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior as a separate agency<ref>{{Cite news|date=2013-06-17|title=Réforme du renseignement : Manuel Valls choisit la continuité|language=fr|work=Le Monde.fr|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2013/06/17/reforme-du-renseignement-manuel-valls-choisit-la-continuite_3431299_3224.html|access-date=2021-04-10}}</ref> and the name of the DCRI was changed to General Directorate of Internal Intelligence. The service is informally known as the RG by the abbreviation of the former Central Directorate of General Intelligence.
*The '''''[[Directorate-general of customs and indirect taxes|Directorate-general of Customs and Indirect Taxes]]''''' (''Direction générale des Douanes et Droits indirects'' or ''DGDDI''), a nowadays civilian customs service more commonly known as the "''[[Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes|Douanes]]''", under the [[Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry (France)#The Minister for the Budget, Public Accounts and the Civil Service|minister of budget, public accounting and civil servants]]; its strength is roughly 17,000 customs officers. [[Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes#Legal Framework|It operates mainly on a different framework of the other agencies]]. Its main tasks regarding law enforcement are the fight against drug, counterfeit goods and protected species trafficking, evasion of customs duties, importation of non-compliant goods, alcohol and tobacco smuggling, money laundering and illegal immigration and the surveillance of French borders and territorial waters. It includes a coast guard agency, the [[Directorate-national of the Customs coast guard]] (''Direction nationale des Garde-côtes des Douanes'' or ''DNGCD'');
*The '''''[[judicial tax officer]]s''''' (''officiers fiscaux judiciaires'', often called by their acronym ''OFJ'')  of the '''''[[Directorate-general of Public Finances]]''''' (''Direction générale des Finances publiques'' or ''DGFiP'') are armed investigators of the tax administration in charge of repressing serious and potentially dangerous tax crime situations, sometimes linked with organized crime. They are closely working with police and customs services. There are around 50 judicial tax officers;[[File:Tenue de travail 1 ONF83 XII-2008.jpg|thumb|Captain of the National Forests Office measuring a seized tortoise before releasing it into nature in 2008]]
*The '''''[[National Forests Office (France)|National Forests Office]]''''' (''Office national des Forêts'' or ''ONF'') is the continuation of the Water and Forests military corp founded in 1291 and today under both the [[Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy|Ministry of environment]] and the [[Ministry of Agriculture (France)|Ministry of Agriculture]]. Its main tasks regarding law enforcement are the fight against forest degradation, poaching and pollution, the surveillance of state-owned forests and the control of hunting licenses. Its strength is roughly 8,000 forest rangers;
*The '''''[[French Office for Biodiversity]]''''' (''Office français de la Biodiversité'' or ''OFB'') is mainly responsible for the monitoring of French wildlife. Its main tasks regarding law enforcement include the fight against environment degradation, poaching, pollution and protected species trafficking, the control of hunting and fishing licenses and the surveillance of [[List of national parks of France|French national parks]] and [[Marine park|marine parks]]. Its strength is roughly 3,000 wildlife officers, fishery officers, national park rangers and marine park rangers;
*The '''''[[Prison administration in France|Prison Administration]]''''' (''Administration pénitentiaire'') is the public service of the Ministry of Justice responsible for the execution of court decisions in criminal matters and to promote the social reintegration of persons entrusted to it by the judicial authority. Its action is based on 187 penitentiary establishments and 104 penitentiary integration and probation services (SPIP) distributed within ten interregional directorates of penitentiary services (DISP) in mainland France and overseas, placed under the authority of the Department of Prison Administration (DAP) whose current director is Laurent Ridel. Its strength is roughly 41,000 prison officers. French prison officers are not armed, except when transferring prisoners or when restoring order during prison riots.
*The '''''[[Directorate general for Maritime affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture]]''''' (''Direction générale des Affaires maritimes, de la Pêche et de l'Aquaculture'' or ''DGAMPA'') commonly known as the "''Affaires maritimes''" is the coast guard agency of the State Secretariat for the Sea. Its main tasks regarding law enforcement are the surveillance of marine traffic and fisheries and the fight against marine pollution and poaching at sea. Today there are about 3,000 coast guards of the Maritime Affairs;
*The [[Sûreté ferroviaire|'''''Railway Security Agency''''']] (''Sûreté ferroviaire'' or ''SuGe'') of the [[SNCF]], the '''''[[Network Protection and Safety Group]]''''' (''Groupe de Protection et de Sécurité des Réseaux'' or ''GPSR'') of the [[RATP Group]] and the '''''[[Support and Protection Group]]''''' (''Groupe d'Assistance et de Protection'' or ''GAP'') of the [[Transport in Marseille|RTM Group]] are responsible for maintaining security in stations, on trains and in subway stations of their respective public transport group. Their powers are far more limited than those of the Police, Gendarmerie and Customs officers. The agents of the ''GAP'' are not armed contrary to those of the ''SuGe'' and the ''GPSR''. Their combined strength is roughly 4,000 railway security officers. The SNCF, the RATP and the RTM are also employing non-armed controllers in charge of checking the validity of the tickets of the passengers;
*The [[Metropolitan Support and Assistance Ship|Metropolitan Support and Assistance Ships]] of the [[French Navy|'''''Navy''''']] (''Marine nationale'') carry out missions of law enforcement in the French territorial waters, such as the fight against maritime pollution and illegal immigration, acting as a military coast guard agency;
*The military of the [[Opération Sentinelle]] are present in sensitive public areas, such as railway stations and tourist zones, to protect them from terrorist threats, also assisting conventional law enforcement agencies. They are mainly military of the [[French Army|'''''Army''''']] (''Armée de Terre'').
Many other administrations and public bodies carry out investigations and repressions of offenses, but due to the nature of their tasks, they are not regarded as law enforcement agencies.

====Local level====
[[File:Police municipale de Chambourcy - Peugeot 5008 B.jpg|thumb|Vehicle of the municipal police of [[Chambourcy]]]]
The [[municipal police]]men are ''Agent de police judiciaire adjoint'' (see below). There are also local police in the rural zones, as for the rural policemen the ''police rurale'' as such does not exist. Note the heterogeneity of local police both in means and in equipment.
* The [[Municipal Police (France)|'''''municipal police''''']] (''Polices municipales'') are the local police of towns and cities in France, dating back to the Middle Ages. The municipal police officers are under the direct authority of the mayor. They may be armed at the request of the mayor and with the approval of the [[Prefect (France)|prefect]], but it is not always the case. Their main tasks are the maintenance of safety in town, the fight against environment degradation and road traffic offenses and the reinforcement of the National Police and Gendarmerie forces when it is needed. There are roughly 24,000 municipal police officers in 4,555 communities;
* The [[Garde champêtre|'''''rural guards''''']] (''gardes champêtres'') are the equivalent of municipal police officers but for smaller towns and villages. They are under the direct authority of the mayor. Like municipal police officers they may be armed at the request of the mayor and with the approval of the prefect, though it is not always the case. They have the same tasks as their urban counterparts. Today, there are roughly 1,000 rural guards in France;
* The [[Agent de surveillance de la voie publique|'''''public roads surveillance officers''''']] (''agents de surveillance de la voie publique'', often called by their acronym ''ASVP'') are responsible for the fight against road traffic offenses, environment degradation and minor disturbances in towns and cities, under the direct authority of the mayor. They cannot be armed, even with non-lethal weapons, contrary to municipal police officers and rural guards. Today, there are roughly 8,000 surveillance of public road officers;
* The [[Conservatoire du littoral|'''''Coastal Protection Agency''''']] (''Conservatoire du Littoral'') is a public organisation in charge of the protection of outstanding littoral areas and thus, the fight against environment degradation and poaching on coastal areas. Its officers are employed and paid by local communities but working with the uniform of their agency. The strength of the Coastal protection agency is roughly 1,000 coastline officers;
* The '''''[[French Nature Reserves]]''''' (''Réserves naturelles de France'' or ''RNF'') is a public organisation in charge of the protection of areas classified nature reserves and thus, the fight against environment degradation. Its officiers are employed and paid by local communities but working with the uniform of their agency. They can only bear non-lethal weapons, contrary to their counterparts of the Coastal Protection Agency. There are less than 1,000 nature reserves officers today in France.
*The [[Wolfcatcher Royal|'''''Louveterie''''']] (literally : ''Wolf-catching agency'') is one of the oldest law enforcement forces, dating back to 813 when it was founded by [[Charlemagne]]. Its officers are independent of each other. Even though their main tasks are the fight against pest and large predators, when it is needed, and the surveillance of driven hunts, they also have law enforcement tasks, such as the fight against poaching and the control of hunting licenses. There are today nearly 2,000 wolfcatchers across the French territory;
*The [[Private game warden|'''''private guards''''']] (''gardes particuliers''), despite their denomination, are sworn officers, which can be employed by the local [[Certified Association for Fishing and Protection of Aquatic Environments]] (''Association agréée de pêche et de protection des milieux aquatiques'' or ''AAPPMA''), the local [[Departmental Federation of Hunters]] (''Fédération départementale des Chasseurs'' or ''FDC'') or by the municipalities, in natural areas that are under their direct management. They can be employed by strictly private organisations and land owners to work on private properties, but are not regarded as being part of the law enforcement forces in such a case. They are armed officers, allowed to conduct their activities by the prefect and are placed under the authority of the public prosecutor. Their main tasks regarding law enforcement are the fight against poaching and environment degradation and the control of hunting licenses, although their powers are far more limited than those of the rural guards and of the officers of the French Office for Biodiversity, the National Forests Office, the municipal polices and the Coastal Protection Agency. Some of them are affiliated with the [[National Federation of Private Guards (France)|National Federation of Private Guards]], but this is not mandatory. There are more than 50,000 private guards in France;
*The military personnel of the [[French Armed Forces in Guiana|'''''Armed Forces in Guiana''''']] (''Forces armées en Guyane''), mainly the military of the [[French Army|Army]] (''Armée de Terre''), are participating in law enforcement tasks, such as the protection of the [[Guiana Space Centre]] and the fight against illegal gold mining. There are roughly 2,000 military in these forces;
* The '''''[[Territorial Guard of Wallis and Futuna]]''''' (''Garde territoriale de Wallis-et-Futuna'') is the local equivalent of a non-armed municipal police force, under the command of the prefect. Its strength is roughly 20 territorial guards.

===Police and ''gendarmerie''===
The leadership of both agencies is centralized and they both have conventional deviance control responsibilities respectively except in different geographical locations in France.<ref name="Dammer & Albanese"/> The ''Police Nationale'' is responsible for Paris and other urban areas whereas the ''gendarmerie'' is responsible for small towns and rural areas with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants.<ref name="Weisheit">{{cite book|last1=Weisheit|first1=Ralph|title=Pursuing Justice: Traditional and Contemporary Issues in Our Communities and the World|date=23 August 2015|publisher=Anderson Publishing|isbn=978-0-323-29459-1|pages=66|edition=2}}</ref> The existence of two national police forces with similar goals and attributions, but somewhat different zones of activity, has at times created friction or competition between the two. Their merging has sometimes been suggested.

With the development of suburban dwellings, this had increasingly proved inadequate. Furthermore, the shifting of a town from a police to a ''gendarmerie'' zone was often controversial, because, typically, a ''gendarmerie'' unit serves a wide area.<ref name="Premier-ministre.gouv.fr">{{Cite web |url=http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/information/fiches_52/repartition_zones_competence_entre_43286.html |title=Premier-ministre.gouv.fr |access-date=11 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050407072322/http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/information/fiches_52/repartition_zones_competence_entre_43286.html |archive-date=7 April 2005 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

A redistribution of authority was thus decided and implemented between 2003 and 2005. Large [[conurbation]]s are now handled entirely by the police. Rural and suburban areas, and some smaller cities with populations ranging from 5,000 to 16,000, are handled by the ''gendarmerie''.<ref name="Premier-ministre.gouv.fr"/>

In addition, the police and the ''gendarmerie'' have specific zones of authority:
* the police handle questions about the admittance, monitoring and continuing stay of foreigners (border police);
* the ''gendarmerie'' handle all matters regarding the military, the police at sea, the security of airports, and the security of certain public buildings ([[Republican Guard (France)|Republican Guard]]).

=== French police jurisdictions ===
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2019}}
In French, the term ''police'' not only refers to the forces, but also to the general concept of "maintenance of law and order" (policing).

There are two types of police in this general sense:
* administrative police (''police administrative''), upholding public order, safety checks and traffic controls, assistance to people in imminent danger, protection duties, etc.
* judicial police (''police judiciaire''), handling penal law enforcement and investigation of crimes and felonies under the authority of a Magistrate (''Procureur de la République'') in every case.

Also, the mayor (''le maire'') has administrative police power in a ''commune'' (municipality), which means that the mayor can order the police to enforce municipal bylaws.

A judge has police power in his courtroom (i.e. the judge can order people who disrupt the trial to be expelled from the proceedings).

Until 1984, the National Police were involved in prehospital rescue operations and [[Casualty movement|casualty transport]] (called ''police-secours''). Prehospital aid is now performed by [[fire]] services; however, [[mountain rescue]] is shared between the gendarmerie's PGHM (''pelotons de gendarmerie de haute montagne'', High Mountain Platoons of the Gendarmerie) and the National Police's [[Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité|CRS]] (''compagnies républicaines de sécurité''; Republican [national] security companies).

Many other countries have followed the French model and have established separate police agencies with the same role but different jurisdictions.

A local precinct of the "police nationale" (called ''commissariat'') or the "gendarmerie nationale" (called ''brigade'') may not be capable of conducting complex investigations. For this reason, both the police and the gendarmerie maintain regional services dedicated to criminal investigations (''police judiciaire''); these are known as "regional services of judiciary police" (''Services régionaux de la Police judiciaire'') in the police, "research sections" (''Sections de recherche de la Gendarmerie nationale'') in the gendarmerie. In addition, both the police and the gendarmerie maintain laboratories dedicated to [[forensics]]. The forensics service of the police is called ''Police technique et scientifique'' (Technical and Scientific Police). It is the equivalent of the American CSI Units.

Most criminal enquiries are conducted by the police. Justice may choose either service; sometimes, if the judiciary is disappointed by the results or the methods of one service, it may give the enquiry to the other service.

The National Police also features some central offices with national jurisdiction, charged with specific missions, such as the national anti-terrorist division.

Both the police and the ''gendarmerie'' have [[police tactical unit]]s. The ''gendarmerie'' has the foremost and best-known, the [[GIGN]]; the police have the [[Recherche Assistance Intervention Dissuasion|RAID]] and the [[Research and Intervention Brigade|BRI]] groups. The gendarmerie also has armoured and [[paratroop]] squadrons.

Both the police and the gendarmerie have crowd and [[riot control]] forces: the [[Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité|CRS]] ('''C'''ompagnies '''R'''épublicaines de '''S'''écurité) for the police, the ''[[Mobile Gendarmerie|gendarmerie mobile]]'' for the gendarmerie. They intervene throughout the country.

One reason for giving commission to a military force to handle matters of civilian police is that the military is not allowed to go on strike, contrary to civilian public servants such as the police personnel, which enables the government to always have an instrument of law enforcement at hand.

Another advantage of the gendarmerie is that, being career soldiers, they have the authority to use armed force in a much less restricted way than the police (in popular culture so-called ''licence to kill'').

The gendarmes have free housing facilities inside their respective gendarmerie brigades (precincts) or live in barracks (''casernes''), which is not the case for the police.

== Functions ==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2019}}
[[File:Camion canon à eau Police Nationale.jpg|thumbnail|A [[water cannon]] of the French National Police]]

===Administrative police===
{{Main|Administrative police (France)}}

The [[Administrative police (France)|Administrative police]] ({{langx|fr|police administrative}}) ensure the maintenance of public order and prevent crime, and are not involved the search for, or arrest of perpetrators of a particular offense.<ref name="Bell-2008">{{cite book |author1=John Bell |author2=Sophie Boyron |author3=Simon Whittaker |date=27 March 2008 |title=Principles of French Law |edition=2 |publisher=OUP Oxford |pages=129– |isbn=978-0-19-101889-3 |oclc=865331945 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DrhGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA129 |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref>

It comprises a variety of actions undertaken under the direction and supervision of the [[executive branch]], notably the [[prefect]], police and gendarmerie forces conduct a variety of actions ensuring [[Public-order crime|public order]].{{cn|date=December 2022}} They include:
* directing road traffic
* channelling street [[Demonstration (people)|demonstrations]]
* positioning riot control forces (CRS or mobile ''gendarmerie'')

===Judicial police===
{{Main|Judicial police (France)}}

The [[Judicial police (France)|Judicial police]] ({{lang|fr|police judiciaire}}) is responsible for investigating, prosecuting, and punishing perpetrators of criminal offenses.<ref name="Bell-2008" /><ref name="Donnelly-2013">{{cite book |last=Donnelly |first=Daniel |date=21 January 2013 |title=Municipal Policing in the European Union: Comparative Perspectives |publisher=Springer |page=37 |isbn=978-1-137-29061-8 |oclc=1005811336 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qHClHUCTEswC&pg=PA37}}</ref> Responsibilities include:{{cn|date=December 2022}}
* pursuing and arresting suspects
* interrogating suspects in some phases of judicial enquiries
* gathering evidence
* serving [[search warrant]]s

These actions must follow the rules given in the [[French code of criminal procedure]], articles 12 to 29.

In order to better fulfill these missions, the ''Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire'' of the French National Police regroups all the units specialized in criminal enquiries. The ''gendarmerie'' counterpart are the ''sections de recherche'' (research sections).

==Rights and limitations==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2019}}
[[File:Police Nationale in France 28.jpg|thumb|upright|French motorcycle officer]]
The powers of French police and ''gendarmerie'' forces are constrained by statute law. The rules of procedure depend on the stage of enquiry:

* Crimes committed ''[[in flagrante delicto]]'', in which a suspect was found committing the crime, or pursued by witnesses, or found in possession of objects from the crime or other [[probable cause]].
* Preliminary enquiries: it is unclear whether a crime, or which crime, has been committed, but there exist good reasons to believe this might be the case.
* Judicial information: an [[investigative magistrate]] (a judge, external to the police) supervises an inquiry on a case where it is certain, or at least very probable, that a crime has been committed.

In particular, except for crimes ''in flagrante delicto'', law enforcement forces may not conduct searches or arrests without a specific commission from the investigative magistrate. Depending on legal status of cases, not all law enforcement officers are able to act; some powers are restricted to those with special legal qualifications (see next section).

==Officers and agents of judicial police==
{{Further|Judicial police (France)}}
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2019}}
[[File:Police nationale, verbalisation d'un automobiliste, Strasbourg (2019).jpg|thumb|Officers stopping a car]]

The procedures that police and ''gendarmerie'' officers follow when conducting criminal inquiries are set by the [[French code of criminal procedure]] ({{lang|fr|Code de procédure pénale}}) and applicable jurisprudence. Criminal inquiries are conducted under the supervision of the judiciary (depending on the phase, under the supervision of the public prosecutor or of an investigative judge).

There are three judiciary qualifications: "officer of judicial police" ({{lang|fr|officier de police judiciaire}} or OPJ), "agent of judicial police" ({{lang|fr|agent de police judiciaire}} or APJ) and "agent of judicial police assistant" (APJ {{lang|fr|adjoint}}). The qualifications of OPJ and APJ can only be exercised if they are affected to a position where these are needed, and, for the OPJs by nominal decision of the general prosecutor of their area. These prerogatives are temporarily suspended when they engage, in an organized force, in an operation of [[Public-order crime|public order]] (i.e. riot control).

* Mayors and deputy mayors are OPJs. This disposition is rarely used.
* In the National Police, these are qualified as OPJs:
** the commissioners and above ranks;
** the titular members of the {{lang|fr|corps de commandement}} nominally listed in a joint decision by the ministers of justice and of the interior;
** members of the {{lang|fr|Corps d'encadrement et d'application}} who have completed three years of service, and are nominally listed in a joint decision by the ministers of justice and of the interior.
* In the National ''Gendarmerie'', these are qualified as OPJs:
** commissioned officers
** non-commissioned officers having completed three years of service, nominally designated by a joint decision by the ministers of justice and of defense.

These ministerial nomination decisions may only be taken after the approval of a specific commission. The current rules also warrant the completion of an examination pertaining to legal matters.

Most other members of the National Police and ''gendarmerie'' are APJs. The remaining members of the National Police, as well as members of municipal police forces, are APJ assistants.

Only OPJs may serve search (this includes anybody search more invasive than external palpation) and put somebody in custody ("garde à vue") for 24 hours; APJs may only assist them in these tasks. Suspects apprehended by an APJ must be brought before an OPJ which will in turn have to inform the public prosecutor. According to the law, any citizen can apprehend the author of a crime or of an offense that can be punished by a prison sentence ([[citizen's arrest]]) and lead him or her to an OPJ. However, this is problematic in case of a "simple" citizen due to the estimation of what can be punished by a prison sentence or not, and due to possible abuse (abuses are a restriction of individual freedom and can be sued for illegal confinement).

The quality of officer of judiciary police may be withdrawn by the judiciary if the officer has behaved in an inappropriate fashion. The general prosecutor grades OPJs and these grades are taken into account for possible promotions.

== Summary table of the French law enforcement agencies ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Agency
!Bearing of lethal weapons by officers
!Right of way in traffic
!Ministry
!Logo
|-
|[[Armed Forces in Guiana]]
|✔
|✘
|[[Ministry of Armed Forces (France)|Ministry of Armed Forces]]
|[[File:Emblème des Forces Armées en Guyane (FAG).svg|center|frameless|209x209px]]
|-
|[[Conservatoire du littoral|Coastal Protection Agency]]
|✔
|✘
|[[Ministry of Ecological Transition (France)|Ministry of Ecological Transition]]
|<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Conservatoire du littoral.svg|frameless]] -->
|-
|[[Directorate general for Maritime affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture]]
|✔
|✘
(except at sea)
|[[Secrétariat général de la Mer|Secretary of State for the Sea]], [[Ministry of Ecological Transition (France)|Ministry of Ecological Transition]] and [[Ministry of Agriculture (France)|Ministry of Agriculture]]
|/
|-
|[[Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes]]
|✔
|✔
|[[Ministry of Economics and Finance (France)|Ministry of Economics and Finance]]
|[[File:Logo des Douanes Françaises.svg|center|frameless|184x184px]]
|-
|[[French Nature Reserves]]
|✘
|✘
|/
|<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Réserves naturelles de France.jpg|center|frameless]] -->
|-
|[[French Office for Biodiversity]]
|✔
|✘
|[[Ministry of Ecological Transition (France)|Ministry of Ecological Transition]] and [[Ministry of Agriculture (France)|Ministry of Agriculture]]
|<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Ofb logo.jpg|center|frameless|151x151px]] -->
|-
|[[General Directorate for Internal Security]]
|✔
|✘
|[[Minister of the Interior (France)|Ministry of the Interior]]
|[[File:Logo de la Direction Générale de la Sécurité Intérieure.svg|center|frameless|150x150px]]
|-
|Judicial tax officers of the [[Directorate-General of Public Finances]]
|✔
|✘
|[[Ministry of Economics and Finance (France)|Ministry of Economics and Finance]] and [[Minister of the Interior (France)|Ministry of the Interior]]
|
|-
|[[Wolfcatcher Royal|Louveterie]]
|✔
|✘
|/
|
|-
|Metropolitan Support and Assistance Ships of the [[French Navy|Navy]]
|✔
|✘
|[[Ministry of Armed Forces (France)|Ministry of Armed Forces]]
|[[File:LOGO MARINE NATIONALE 2021.svg|center|frameless|222x222px]]
|-
|Military personnel engaged in [[Opération Sentinelle]]
|✔
|✘
|[[Ministry of Armed Forces (France)|Ministry of Armed Forces]]
|[[File:Emblème de l'Operation Sentinelle.svg|center|frameless|150x150px]]
|-
|[[Municipal Police (France)|Municipal Police]]
|✔/✘
(depends on the area)
|✔
|/
|[[File:Logo Police Municipale (France).svg|center|frameless|186x186px]]
|-
|[[National Forests Office (France)|National Forests Office]]
|✔
|✘
|[[Ministry of Agriculture (France)|Ministry of Agriculture]] and [[Ministry of Ecological Transition (France)|Ministry of Ecological Transition]]
|
|-
|[[National Gendarmerie]]
|✔
|✔
|[[Minister of the Interior (France)|Ministry of the Interior]] and [[Ministry of Armed Forces (France)|Ministry of Armed Forces]]
|[[File:Gendarmerie nationale logo.svg|center|frameless|150x150px]]
|-
|[[National Police (France)|National Police]]
|✔
|✔
|[[Minister of the Interior (France)|Ministry of the Interior]]
|[[File:Police Nationale (France).svg|center|frameless]]
|-
|[[Network Protection and Safety Group]] ([[RATP Group]])
|✔
|✔
|/
|[[File:Logo de RATP Sûreté (GPSR).svg|center|frameless|182x182px]]
|-
|[[Private game warden|Private Guards]] of fishing and hunting federations
|✔/✘
(depends on the area)
|✘
|/
|/
|-
|[[Public Road Surveillance Officer|Public Roads Surveillance Officers]]
|✘
|✘
|/
|
|-
|[[Prison administration in France|Prison Administration]]
|✘ 
(except when transferring prisoners or when restoring order during prison riots)
|✔
|[[Ministry of Justice (France)|Ministry of Justice]]
|[[File:Logo de l'Administration Pénitentiaire française.svg|center|frameless|150x150px]]
|-
|[[Railway Security Agency]] ([[SNCF]])
|✔
|✔
|/
|[[File:Logo Sûreté ferroviaire (SNCF).svg|center|frameless|207x207px]]
|-
|[[Garde champêtre|Rural Guards]]
|✔/✘
(depends on the area)
|✘
|/
|[[File:Emblème des Gardes Champêtres.svg|center|frameless|174x174px]]
|-
|[[Support and Protection Group]] ([[Transport in Marseille|RTM Group]])
|✘
|✘
|/
|/
|-
|[[Territorial guard of wallis and futuna|Territorial Guard of Wallis and Futuna]]
|✘
|✔
|/
|/
|}

==See also==
* [[Crime in France]]
* [[Groupe mobile de réserve]], paramilitary police unit of Vichy France
* [[Judiciary of France]]
* {{Interlanguage link|Police violence in France|fr|Violence policière en France}}
* [[Brigades nautiques et fluviales]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://playmendroit.free.fr/droit_administratif/les_buts_de_la_police_administrative.htm Legal analysis of the goals of administrative policing] {{in lang|fr}}
* '''Code of criminal procedure''' {{in lang|fr}}
** [http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnCode?commun=&code=CPROCPEL.rcv Statute part]
** regulations
*** [http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnCode?commun=&code=CPROCPER.rcv Decrees in the Council of State]
*** [http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnCode?commun=&code=CPROCPED.rcv Simple decrees]
*** [http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnCode?commun=&code=CPROCPEA.rcv Administrative decisions]
* ''[[French National Police|Direction centrale de la police judiciaire]]'', ''Aspects de la criminalité et de la délinquance constatées en France en 2004 par les services de police et les unités de gendarmerie'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20230405095104/http://lesrapports.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/cgi-bin/brp/telestats.cgi?brp_ref=054000369&brp_file=0000.pdf vol 1], [https://web.archive.org/web/20230405095103/http://lesrapports.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/cgi-bin/brp/telestats.cgi?brp_ref=054000370&brp_file=0000.pdf vol 2] (PDF); to be published by ''[[La Documentation française]]'' {{in lang|fr}}

{{Law enforcement agencies of France}}
{{France topics}}
{{Europe topic|Law enforcement in}}
{{Americas topic|Law enforcement in}}

[[Category:Law enforcement in France| ]]