What is the policing system in France?

Answer 1

France has a policing system shaped by history, its main particularity being that it has two police forces: the national police acting in every major town, and the gendarmerie acting in the countryside. There is very little difference in their powers, but their organization is different; town police stations are running 24/7, while most 'gendarmeries' are pooled by threes, which allow them to share the evening/night/week-end shifts. The 'gendarmes' have a military status, while the 'policiers' are civil servants. In either the local police stations or the Gendarmeries there is a sort of separation between general policing and investigative work.

Both forces also have a nationwide capacity, acting as a reserve for major events (anything from riot control to Tour de France stages): the CRS (Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité) and the Gendarmerie Mobile. In between these events, it is standard for these units to be assigned as reinforcements of the local police forces or other police agencies, like the Border police.

In addition to that, town are free to build their own police force. Their level of power is somewhat less (they would not carry arrests or the like unless there is an absolute need for that) and they are usually assigned to community policing and traffic policing, first by enforcing parking rules. They answer to the town council.