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A National Police Peugeot 5008 in the current force livery at the Trocadéro in Paris

The national and local police forces of France all use a wide range of operational vehicles for a number of roles, including compact cars for patrols and armoured vans for public order, major incidents and inner-city patrols. Other vehicles used by French police include motorcycles, aircraft, and boats.

History

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Beginnings

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Currus-modified Renault 4CV pie of the Paris Police Prefecture

Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War and resultant Occupation of France, the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police were equipped with a fleet of black unmarked Citroën Traction Avants, a vehicle type that was being utilised by criminal gangs. Besides the Judicial Police, French police officers were traditionally not equipped with automobiles on patrols, instead making use of public buses or bicycles.[1]

In 1952, as vehicle traffic in Paris became considerably heavier, the Paris Police Prefecture required a police vehicle that was not only economical to run, but also compact and manoeuvrable for tight Paris city streets. The prefecture decided to choose the Renault 4CV supermini as its first patrol vehicle and commissioned coachbuilder Carrosserie Currus to prepare a prototype 4CV to its specification: this prototype, presented to the Prefect of Police in May 1953, featured recessed doors to enable officers to get out of their vehicles quicker, resulting in the chassis to be reinforced to compensate for the removal of bodywork, and also featured a tuned carburettor, cyliner head and exhaust. Initially painted black, the prototype was later painted by the police in a black-and-white livery featuring 'POLICE' lettering and the crest of the Paris Police Prefecture.[1] This livery gained the cars the nickname of pie, based on its resemblance to the black-and-white common magpie.[2]

Following the handover of this prototype, a fleet of 15 Currus-modified 4CVs were delivered to the Police Prefecture in 1955 for a two-year trial, with 35 officers trained to operate the vehicles. Based at a garage on the Rue Chanoinesse, the 4CVs were each crewed with two officers across five sectors of Paris.[2] These 4CVs had additional modifications based on the prototype, including a set of extra batteries to power onboard radio equipment, two extra air intakes, a Ferlec electromagnetic clutch and a steering lock to improve the vehicle's performance. Besides featuring a utilitarian interior, the 4CVs were also equipped with rooftop illuminated 'POLICE' signs, long radio antennas, searchlights and rear-mounted 'STOP' lamps.[1]

Following the two-year trial, the modified 4CVs were approved by the Police Prefecture, with a further 58 Renault 4CVs being ordered. Around this time, another prototype 4CV was produced with the aim of reducing its weight, however Renault wrote to the Police Prefect warning that the recessed door modifications voided the warranty of the 4CV pie. As a result, the remainder of 4CV pie patrol vehicles were delivered with standard doors,[2] and following the revelation that the weight-reduction programme proved too expensive to carry out, the Police Prefecture instead ordered the Renault Dauphine for its fleet.[1]

1960s-1970s

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The first Citroën Type H cell vans (French: fourgon cellulaire) began to be introduced to the Paris Police Prefecture in 1960, replacing Renault Goëlettes employed by the prefecture. Though initially equipped with a metal divider separating officers and prisoners, as a result of the May 68 demonstrations across France, these Type H vans were equipped with protective mesh shields on their windows.[3] These vans were typically nicknamed 'salad baskets' (French: panier à salade)

Equipment

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Marked French police vehicles have blue lightbars mounted to their roofs. Government legislation stipulates that emergency vehicles in France

French police vehicles originally had orange lights mounted to their roofs until this was changed to blue by legislation in 1971.

Sirens of Gendarmerie vehicles have a slightly higher pitch to those operated by both the national and municipal police.

Vehicle registration plates

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See also: Vehicle registration plates of France
A pre-SIV registration plate for a National Police vehicle based in Meurthe-et-Moselle

Until the introduction of the SIV scheme in 2009, French police cars typically carried special vehicle registration plates distinguishing them from civilian and other vehicles. National Police registration plates were formatted with a letter to indicate the vehicle's département code; a letter incidcating which area the vehicle was authorised to travel (D for the département, R for the region, N for the national territory, E for the European Union); a dash; four numbers from 1001 to 9999; and a random letter.

Gendarmerie vehicles followed the same format as the French Armed Forces and had the logo of the Gendarmerie on the left-hand side of the plate; the plate began with the number 2 to indicate its role in the French Armed Forces registration system; two digits to identify the year of car registration (01 for 2001); a number to identify the type of vehicle (1 for cars and coaches, 3 for lorries, etc.) and four numbers from 0001 to 9999.

Banalisées

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An unmarked Paris Police Prefecture Peugeot 3008. Note the sunvisor and detachable blue light on the roof

Unmarked vehicles (French: banalisées) are discreet police cars and motorcycles operated by all police forces in France for various purposes.[4] Many of these are operated by the National Police's Brigade Anti-Criminalité (BAC), and tend to take the form of common street cars; in 2003, Ford Mondeos, Citroën C5s and Renault Lagunas were among a new fleet of banalisées supplied to the BAC.[5] Banalisée cars are typically equipped with a magnetic blue light that can be attached by the driver onto the roof, a siren, and a blue light-up 'POLICE' sign attached to the sunvisor.

Some unmarked vehicles are operated by private contractors outsourced by the government road safety department. Known as 'private radar cars' (French: Voitures-radars privées), these are equipped with infrared Gatso traffic enforcement cameras used to catch speeding vehicles and automatically issue fines to their drivers.[6][7][8] Private radar cars are not equipped with blue lights and do not carry 'POLICE' lettering on their sunvisors. First trialed in 2020 with a fleet of 40 cars,[9] up to 450 private radar cars were being rolled out across France by the end of 2022.[8]

National Police

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Clockwise from top left: National Police vehicles in former to current liveries

The supply of fleet vehicles to the National Police is handled through the Ministry of the Interior,

Vehicles previously operated by the National Police in large numbers included the Renault Mégane II hatchback,[5] the Renault Scénic,[10] the Peugeot 307,[11] the Ford Focus and the Ford Mondeo.[12]

In 2007, a new livery was introduced to replace the initial white livery, featuring a thicker blue stripe down the sides of the vehicle and the force's new emblem, based on the flag of France, inset into the stripe and also placed on the vehicle's bonnet. New vehicles delivered in this livery also featured dashcams and microphones to aid with evidence gathering.[10]

In November 2020, the Ministry of the Interior announced it had ordered 1,263 Peugeot 5008 SUVs for both the National Police and Gendarmerie as part of a nationwide police fleet renewal programme. The National Police 5008s were the first to feature a new silver-based livery for the force, featuring silver reflective striping along the sides of the vehicle as well as red and blue flashes on the front and rear quarters respectively.[13]

CRS

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CRS Citroën Jumpers with riot shields deployed during the 2006 youth protests in Paris

During the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Béthune CRS presented a prototype surveillance van equipped with flexible solar panels that can be deployed during long surveillance work, powering on-board electrical equipment without having the van's engine run idling. The system was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and the Paris École de la transition écologique, with the intention for future CRS surveillance vans to have solar panels fitted to their roofs.[14]

Gendarmerie

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Gendarmerie striping and motto 'Our commitment, your safety', the latter introduced on vehicles from 2017 onwards

Like with the National Police, the supply of fleet vehicles to the Gendarmerie is handled through the Ministry of the Interior. This leads to the Gendarmerie having a similar fleet to the National Police, albeit with cars painted in deep blue with a white stripe; from 2017 onwards, vehicles began to feature the strapline 'Our commitment, your safety' (French: Notre engagement, votre sécurité) below the 'GENDARMERIE' text.

Vehicles operated by the Gendarmerie in large numbers include the Ford Mondeo, [12] the Peugeot 5008,[13]

Mobile Gendarmerie

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A Mobile Gendarmerie third generation Iveco Daily in Paris in July 2021

The Mobile Gendarmerie (French: Gendarmerie mobile) (GM) operates primarily using a fleet of armoured vans similar to those operated by the National Police's CRS unit. A majority of these are built by Iveco, and are primarily split into two roles: group mobility vehicles (VMG) for each marching platoon and three team mobility vehicles (VME) for the intervention platoon.[clarification needed] The Mobile Gendarmerie have previously used 128 Renault B110s as mobile command posts, which began to be replaced from 2022 onwards.[15]

As part of the renewal of the Gendarmerie fleet, a fleet of 380 third generation Iveco Dailys converted by Gruau were delivered to 40 squadrons of the Mobile Gendarmerie from 2022 onwards, representing a third of all Mobile Gendarmerie squadrons in France. Each squadron received three short Dailys designated as VMEs, as well as six longer Dailys designated as VMGs.[15]

Rapid Intervention Vehicles

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The Gendarmerie's traffic police operations are responsible for patrolling the autoroutes of France, utilising high-performance Rapid Intervention Vehicles (French: Véhicules Rapides d'Intervention) (VRI) and motorcycles. Until 1 September 2013, these were operated by regional Rapid Intervention Brigades (French: Brigades Rapides d'Intervention) (BRI). The BRI was abolished in 2013 and reformed into Departmental Road Safety Squadrons (French: Escadrons départementaux de sécurité routière).[16]

Other forces

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Paris Police Prefecture

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A Paris Police Prefecture Volkswagen Sharan

After initially running its fleet vehicles in an all-white livery, in 2018, the Paris Police Prefecture returned to black-and-white pie livery with the delivery of its first 16 leased Volkswagen e-Golfs, with one being distributed to each of the Arrondissements of Paris that had charging infrastructure installed in their police stations.[17][18] The agreement with Volkswagen was extended in 2019 with the delivery of 22 e-Golfs and 11 Passat GTE plug-in hybrids, some of the latter being finished in an all-black livery.[19]

Municipal Police

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Valbonne municipal police Citroën C4 Cactus

Unlike with the National Police and Gendarmerie, municipal police forces in France order their own choice of police vehicles according to each municipality's needs and budget. A standard livery of white and three blue stripes, featuring 'Police Municipale' lettering appear on the widest blue stripe, has been mandated on all municipal police vehicles across France since 2005.[20]

In 2003, the municipal police of Montpellier took delivery of three Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor patrol vehicles at a cost of €120,000 (equivalent to €182,000 in 2023) to the taxpayer. Mayor of Montpelier Georges Frêche was criticised for ordering the Crown Victorias, which at 5.38 metres (17.7 ft) long and 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) wide, were considered too big for city streets. It was also calculated that three Renault Méganes, costing around €15,000 (equivalent to €23,000 in 2023) each, could have been purchased for pre-tax price of one €40,000 (equivalent to €61,000 in 2023) Crown Victoria.[21] The Crown Victorias were withdrawn from service and sold by the municipality in 2008.[22]

As of 2023, some municipal forces have begun converting their fleet to use battery electric vehicles, with the Homécourt municipal police operating a MG4 EV and Montigny-le-Bretonneux municipal police operating a Renault Austral.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Renault 4CV Pie: Stop Police!". Losange Magazine. No. 15. Autumn 2021. p. 15. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "L'histoire de la 4cv Pie de la Police Parisenne". amicale-police-patrimoine.fr (in French). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Le «Panier à salade» Citroën type H Police". amicale-police-patrimoine.fr (in French). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Voiture banalisée" (in French). Assurland. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b "La police se dote de nouveaux véhicules". Caradisiac (in French). 2002. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  6. ^ Bonnet, Julien (21 April 2021). "Voitures-radars privées: où circulent-elles en France?" [Private radar cars: where do they circulate in France?]. BFM Business (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Voitures radars. Plaque d'immatriculation, modèle... ces détails qui permettent de les reconnaître" [Radar cars. License plate, model... these details that allow you to recognize them]. Sud Ouest (in French). Bordeaux. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Voitures radars : comment les reconnaître et où circulent-elles ?" [Radar cars: how to recognize them and where do they travel?]. Auto Plus (in French). 6 October 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Chaque voiture radar privatisée rapporterait près de 200 000 € à l'État par an" [Each privatized radar car would bring nearly €200,000 to the State per year]. Sud Ouest (in French). Bordeaux. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Des voitures de police dotées de micros et de caméras numériques". CNET France (in French). 12 October 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  11. ^ Gulliet, Alexandre (3 June 2005). "Peugeot livre des 307 à la police" [Peugeot delivers 307s to the police]. Le Journal de l'Automobile (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  12. ^ a b Leroy, Catherine (14 September 2012). "La police va à nouveau rouler en Ford". l'Argus (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  13. ^ a b Moriscot, Antonin (23 November 2020). "Ce que l'on sait des Peugeot 5008 livrés à la Gendarmerie et à la Police nationale" [What we know about the Peugeot 5008 delivered to the Gendarmerie and the National Police]. Auto Infos (in French). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  14. ^ Turci, Lucas (20 August 2021). "Le Mans. Un prototype de véhicule plus vert pour les CRS" [Le Mans. A greener vehicle prototype for the CRS]. Sud Ouest (in French). Bordeaux. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  15. ^ a b Vérnier, Julie (8 December 2021). "La flotte de la gendarmerie mobile renouvelée dès 2022". Flottes Automobiles (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  16. ^ Munier, Michel (18 June 2013). "Dans quelques semaines, les brigades Rapides d'Intervention (BRI) n'existeront plus" [In a few weeks, the Rapid Intervention Brigades (BRI) will no longer exist]. Armee Media. Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  17. ^ Manthey, Nora (26 February 2018). "Paris police now patrols with the e-Golf". electrive. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  18. ^ Torregrossa, Michaël (18 February 2018). "Des Golf électriques pour la Préfecture de Police de Paris". Automobile Propre (in French). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  19. ^ Bonnet, Julien (19 March 2019). "La Préfecture de Police de Paris va continuer à rouler avec des Volkswagen électriques" [Paris Police Prefecture will continue to drive electric Volkswagens]. BFM Business (in French). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  20. ^ a b Foultier, Vincent (21 August 2023). "Dans quelles voitures roulent les agents de la police municipale ?". l'Argus (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  21. ^ Bernard, Catherine (12 November 2003). "Voitures «Starsky et Hutch» pour la police montpelliéraine" ["Starsky and Hutch" cars for the Montpellier police]. Libération (in French). Paris. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  22. ^ Mayet, Frédéric (2 January 2022). "Quand les policiers municipaux roulaient en grosses américaines à Montpellier" [When municipal police officers drove in big Americans in Montpellier]. Midi Libre (in French). Montpellier. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
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