Maritime Gendarmerie

The Maritime Gendarmerie (French: Gendarmerie maritime) is a component of the French National Gendarmerie under operational control of the chief of staff of the French Navy. It employs 1,157 personnel and operates around thirty patrol boats and high-speed motorboats distributed on the littoral waterways of France.^[3] Like their land-based colleagues the Gendarmes Maritime are military personnel who carry out policing operations in addition to their primary role as a coast guard service. They also carry out provost duties within the French Navy.

Maritime Gendarmerie Gendarmerie maritime
Agency overview
Formed	1832 – present[1][2]
Employees	1,157
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	France
General nature	Gendarmerie
Specialist jurisdiction	Coastal patrol, marine border protection, marine search and rescue.
Operational structure
Parent agency	National Gendarmerie

The uniforms and insignia of the Gendarmerie Maritime are very similar to those of the French Navy, but the ranks used are those of the rest of the Gendarmerie (which are the same as the traditional ranks of the French Cavalry).

Mission

The mission of the Maritime Gendarmerie is as follows:^[4]

• Maritime safety and of general police force duties in the territorial waters and EEZ, under the authority of the maritime prefect.
• Criminal Investigation Department under the authority of public prosecutor.
• Protection of the naval shore establishments.
• Search and rescue.

Organisation

The Maritime Gendarmerie is commanded by a colonel who is assisted by a staff located in Paris. The coastguard is divided into 3 groupings, 7 companies and 64 units (brigades of research, brigades of monitoring of the littoral, group of safety of the protected zones, group of monitoring of intervention and reinforcement, patrol craft, coastal high-speed motorboats of maritime surveillance) whose geographical distribution is as follows:^[3]

• Metropolitan France :
  • grouping of the English Channel and the North Sea in Cherbourg (2 companies)
  • grouping of the Atlantic in Brest (4 companies);
  • grouping of the Mediterranean in Toulon (2 companies);
  • company from Paris to the Career-on-Seine (under the authority of the headquarters);
  • national instruction center of the GM (C.N.I.G.M) in Toulon.
• Overseas:
  • Guadeloupe: 1 patrol craft (Violette);^[5]
  • French Guiana: 2 high-speed 20-metre motorboats (Charente and Organabo);
  • Mayotte: 1 patrol craft (20-metre high-speed motorboat - Odet);
  • French Polynesia: 1 patrol craft (Jasmin) and a brigade;
  • New Caledonia: 1 high-speed motorboat of 20 meters (Dumbéa) and 2 brigades;
  • Réunion: 1 high-speed 20-metre patrol boat (Verdon),^[6] forward deployed in Mayotte as of early 2023^[7]

Personnel

Two members of the Maritime Gendarmerie in a rubber boat.

Commissioned officers are recruited from holders of a master's degree; non-commissioned officers from holders of a high school diploma giving access to university studies; auxiliary gendarmes are recruited without any specific educational prerequisite. Members of the maritime gendarmerie are recruited among officers, nco's and auxiliary gendarmes with a few years of general gendarmerie service. Certificate of competency for sea or inland water navigation and training in scuba diving is a merit for those who wants to join. Within the maritime gendarmerie there exists further specializations such as coxswain, mechanic, diver, underwater investigation technician, maritime and port security operative and watch-keeping officer.^[8][9][10]

Officers

Rank insignia
Rank	Lieutenant	Capitaine	Chef d'Escadron	Lieutenant-colonel	Colonel	Général de brigade

Non-commissioned officers

Rank insignia
Rank	Gendarme	Maréchal des logis Chef	Adjudant	Adjudant-chef	Major

Auxiliary gendarmes

Rank insignia
Rank	Gendarme Adjoint de 2e classe	Gendarme Adjoint de 1er classe	Brigadier	Brigadier-chef	Maréchal des logis

Patrol boats

Class	Picture	Type	Boat	Displacement	Note
Maroni class		Patrol boat	P692 Maroni P693 Oyapock P694 Aber Ildut	72.5 tonnes	Based in English Channel/North Sea region: Cherbourg, Dunkirk and Boulogne-sur-Mer[11]
		Patrol boat	P719 Armoise	76 tonnes	Former Directorate for Maritime Affairs vessel based in Cherbourg pending arrival of PCG-NG boats starting late 2024[12][13]
PCG-NG class		Patrol boat	P727 Rozel (projected 2025)	350 tonnes	Six vessels planned for delivery from 2025; Initially to replace Armoise as well as Géranium and Jonquille classes[14][15]
Géranium class		Patrol boat	P720 Géranium P722 Violette	100 tonnes	P720 based in Lorient;[16] P722 in Guadeloupe[17]
Jonquille class		Patrol boat	P721 Jonquille P723 Jasmin	98 tonnes	P721 based in Toulon;[18] P723 in Papeete[19]
Elorn class		Patrol boat	P601 Elorn P602 Verdon P603 Adour P604 Scarpe P605 Vertonne P606 Dumbéa P607 Yser P608 Argens P609 Hérault P610 Gravona P611 Odet P612 Maury P613 Charente P614 Tech P615 Penfeld P616 Trieux P617 Vésubie P618 Escaut P619 Huveaune P620 Sèvre P621 Aber Wrac'h P622 Esteron P623 Mahury P624 Organabo	41 tonnes	As of 2023: 11 units reported based in the Atlantic/English Channel/North Sea region; 7 in the Mediterranean; 2 in French Guiana; 2 in Mayotte; 1 in New Caledonia (1 - P623 - reported unserviceable as of late 2022)[20][21][22]
Pavois class		Patrol boat	P692 Pavois P693 Ecu P964 Rondache P695 Harnois P696 Haubert P697 Heaume P698 Brigantine P699 Gantelet	10.2 tonnes	All boats in service since 2011; reported based in: Le Havre (2 units), Port de Bouc (2 units), Marseilles, Cherbourg, Brest and Toulon[23]

See also

• Coastguard Service of the French Customs
• Directorate general for Maritime affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer

References

1. "La gendarmerie maritime". Net-Marine (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
2. Le lieutenant-colonel Ebel. "La gendarmerie de la restauration au second empire". La société nationale de l’histoire et du patrimoine de la gendarmerie - société des amis du musée de la gendarmerie (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
3. "La gendarmerie maritime". Ministry of Defense. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
4. "La gendarmerie maritime" (in French). Ministry of Interior. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
5. "Un nouveau commandant pour le "La Violette", un navire indispensable à la lutte contre la drogue en Guadeloupe".
6. "La Réunion : La base navale vue du ciel | Mer et Marine". 19 July 2017.
7. "Marine Nationale Dossier d'Information, pp. 19 and 23" (PDF). Cols Bleus (in French). January 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
8. "Gendarme en unité nautique et maritime." La gendarmerie recrute. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
9. "La gendarmerie maritime : gendarmerie spécialisée entre terre et mer." Gendinfo. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
10. "Pelotons de sûreté maritime et portuaire : intervention renforcée." Retrieved March 26, 2023.
11. "The French Navy receives the first two new generation maritime surveillance coastal patrol boats". 28 April 2022.
12. "Défense. Cherbourg : après 40 ans de services, ces deux patrouilleurs quittent la base navale; La Presse de la Manche". 10 December 2022.
13. Groizeleau, Vincent (24 February 2023). "Gendarmerie maritime : le patrouilleur Armoise rejoint enfin Cherbourg; Mer et Marine".
14. Groizeleau, Vincent (2 October 2024). "Socarenam : le premier des nouveaux patrouilleurs de la Gendarmerie maritime en achèvement à flot". Mer et Marine.
15. "Six nouveaux patrouilleurs côtiers pour la Gendarmerie maritime".
16. Jaouen, Catherine (20 September 2021). "Lorient. Un nouveau pacha pour le patrouilleur Géranium". ouestfrance (in French). Retrieved 2023-03-04.
17. "La "Violette" des Forces Armées aux Antilles à la Renconte de Guirec Soudée". Le Journal de Saint-Barth (in French). 3 May 2021. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
18. "Zoom sur une petite " marée " de la Jonquille". Les Amis de la Gendarmerie (in French). 18 August 2021. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
19. "Le Jasmin sera remplacé en 2024". Direction Polynésienne des Affaires Maritimes (in French). 12 June 2019. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
20. "Marine Nationale Dossier d'Information, pp. 19 and 23" (PDF). Cols Bleus (in French). January 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
21. Groizeleau, Vincent (5 December 2022). "Le Marfret Niolon emmène une vedette de la Gendarmerie maritime en Guyane". Mer et Marine (in French). Retrieved 6 December 2022.
22. "La gendarmerie maritime monte à bord de nouvelles vedettes". Ministère de l'Intéreiur et des outre-mer (in French). 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
23. "Les vedettes de surveillance maritime et portuaire (VSMP)". netmarine.net.

External links

• Official Site of the Gendarmerie Maritime on Ministry of Defense French only
• Official Site of the Gendarmerie Maritime on Ministry of Interior French only
• Forum anciens Gendarmes Maritimes French only