Salut! to the French GIGN!

[33LIMA 972]

Well done to the Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale and all the others involved in bringing to an end the two sieges in France earlier today, with a promptness, courage and professionalism that does them and their country proud. Very, very sad that they were unable to save all the hostages at the supermarket but the rest almost certainly owe their lives to the skill and bravery of their rescuers.

 

Vive la France!

[Emp_Palpatine 501]

It's our own system, quite complicated.
Two or three services were involved :

G.I.G.N. is the Gendarmerie special force (like a military police). Gendarmerie belongs to the army but has police duties in small towns and rural areas. Some of you guys might have met some Gendarmes in A-Stan, as they are the police for the army too. But some units do undertake combat duties and quite real ones. I've met a few who fought in Chad, for instance.
Lots of joke on Gendarmes in France, but G.I.G.N.... These guys are among the best on Earth for such jobs.

The civilian Police has its own units, the R.A.I.D. and B.R.I (that I did not know, but things change so quickly in France). Awesome guys too, but some say they are a little bit behind G.I.G.N.
National Police duties are city-based. And some cities also have a city police (Police Municipale), that is seldomly armed and with few powers. 

Anyway, they did the job. And 66 million people are grateful today.

I can only advise you the movie "l'assaut" based on 1994 Air France Hi-jacking. It's a very realistic movie, filmed with genuine G.I.G.N. members.

Edited January 10, 2015 by Emp_Palpatine

[+whiteknight06604 934]

:)

[+russouk2004 6,958]

3 down 1 to go....she is doomed...   Good job French Services.

[Caesar 305]

Wow; had no idea the gendarmes were still around (guess they don't wear head to toe plate harness anymore...HARR!).  Total respect for those guys and gals.  Glad to see they waxed another stain from the planet.

[Nesher 628]

they did a great job taking care of the terrorists.. hopefully they won't be needed soon

 

S!

[+Menrva 4,200]

Yep, they really did a good job, well executed. G.I.G.N is like the Italian G.I.S. of Carabinieri, a military police as well. I wonder how many countries have such forces.

 

I can only advise you the movie "l'assaut" based on 1994 Air France Hi-jacking. It's a very realistic movie, filmed with genuine G.I.G.N. members.

 

Thanks for the movie advice Emp_Palpatine, is it available in other languages as well? My French is a little rusty.

[Emp_Palpatine 501]

I guess you will find some english subs.

Actually, it's not that a talkative movie either. 

[+Menrva 4,200]

I guess you will find some english subs.

Actually, it's not that a talkative movie either. 

 

I should have guessed, pretty stupid my question was. Thanks, I'll probably see it in French then.

[Emp_Palpatine 501]

After a few researchs, there are english versions on DVD. Don't know if it's fully dubbed or subtitled. 

Edited January 10, 2015 by Emp_Palpatine

[Boresight 51]

Hello everyone,

 

First of all my best regards to all french people.

And the wish that situations like this, where innocent people end this way, don't repeat.

 

As already said, GIGN is usually the most known, but there's also RAID, here's a nice pic of them:

[+Dave 2,322]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQfzltS4W1s#t=56

 

Watch as one of the bad guys bolts to the door and gets blasted! Well done France, well done.

[+CrazyhorseB34 937]

The Kosher grocery raid was the Paris Metro Police B.R.I. unit and R.A.I.D. The guy in the store was armed with an AK-47, a pistol and 15 sticks of dynamite. As the breach team was jerking the door of it's hinges the Terrorist shot four hostages while exchanging fire with the Police. Notice the Police are only armed with pistols and ballistic shields. You can see one of the Police unload on the guy as he makes the, "ten meter dash to hell."  Those Police had to rip the door off while watching him kill innocent people. That is guts. The girl was never in the store to start with.

 

If you compare the French SWAT police to those clowns we have seen in the USA over last couple of years on TV, one can tell without a doubt that they are physically fit, highly trained, professionals. All in uniform. Same gear. Helmets worn properly. Not carrying weapons at the low ready when not needed. Also if you watched this footage, almost every time those guys had to move they ran. I wish they where my cops.

 

Ferguson, Missouri.

 

Yesterday in Paris.

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2015 by CrazyhorseB34

[Emp_Palpatine 501]

 

Watch as one of the bad guys bolts to the door and gets blasted! Well done France, well done.

Thanks for the link. 

[+whiteknight06604 934]

The Kosher grocery raid was the Paris Metro Police B.R.I. unit and R.A.I.D. The guy in the store was armed with an AK-47, a pistol and 15 sticks of dynamite. As the breach team was jerking the door of it's hinges the Terrorist shot four hostages while exchanging fire with the Police. Notice the Police are only armed with pistols and ballistic shields. You can see one of the Police unload on the guy as he makes the, "ten meter dash to hell."  Those Police had to rip the door off while watching him kill innocent people. That is guts. The girl was never in the store to start with.

 

If you compare the French SWAT police to those clowns we have seen in the USA over last couple of years on TV, one can tell without a doubt that they are physically fit, highly trained, professionals. All in uniform. Same gear. Helmets worn properly. Not carrying weapons at the low ready when not needed. Also if you watched this footage, almost every time those guys had to move they ran. I wish they where my cops.

apples and oranges...but nice try..... lol

[+CrazyhorseB34 937]

Not quite sure what you mean?

 

But if you point a rifle at a guy with his hands up while wearing PVS-14's on your helmet in broad day light, then you are an idiot.

 

Pistols and shields against a guy with an AK and dynamite is professional. Limits high power rifle rounds hitting hostages. Police doing police things. Not camo battledress pointing rifles at everyone...

 

The National Police is the civilian Police Force. They are the primary law enforcement agency in Paris and most major cities. They raided the grocery. They also had only about 10 minutes before the commander on the ground got word that the terrorist was praying. The terrorist left his phone on and they heard him prepping to kill the hostages. They also wanted him eliminated before he found out that the brothers had been eliminated.

 

The Gendarmerie is the Military Police. They are an arm of the French Armed Forces. They are the primary law enforcement agency in rural areas of France. They took the brothers out. With four GIGN guys wounded.

 

We can't use The Army for civil action it is against the law. They can. Their system is better. Ours sucks.

 

They clearly have a much more professional force with much more centralized training.

 

That was the point.

[Emp_Palpatine 501]

Well, it's also true that Gendarmes are sort of more efficient because they are less prone to the civilian regulations. Especially regarding the use of force and firepower. Even if, we are in France and Western Europe, it's severly and often stupidly limited.

As for G.I.G.N./RAID, the first group is said to be more efficient too. Well, they are military. 

 

But indeed, We are kinda satisfied with what we have and last decades attempt to make some fusion between police forces as well as to put an end to the gendarmerie failed. When you look at other examples (yes, Belgium, I am looking at you...), you clearly understand why. 

Still, we are (sadly) an unitary state, you are a federation. If I were a U.S. citizen, I would be a staunch supporter of the Posse Comitatus Act. The lesser the power of the central government, the better.