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 1,100 personnel and operates around thirty patrol boats and high-speed motorboats distributed on the littoral waterways of France. Like their land-based colleagues the Gendarmes Maritime are military personnel carry out policing operations in addition to their primary role as a coast guard unit. They also carry out provost duties within the French Navy.

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:

• Maritime safety and of general police force duties in the territorial waters and EEZ, under the authority of 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 articulated in 3 groupings, 8 companies and 75 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:

Vedette of the gendarmerie maritime in Guiana.

A vedette côtière de surveillance maritime in La Rochelle harbour.

• 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 state major);
  • national instruction center of the GM (C.N.I.G.M) in Toulon.
• Overseas:
  • Guadeloupe: 1 patrol craft;
  • French Guyana: 2 high-speed 20-metre motorboats;
  • Mayote: 1 patrol craft (20 metre high-speed motorboat);
  • French Polynesia: 1 patrol craft and a brigade;
  • New Caledonia: 1 high-speed motorboat of 20 meters and 2 brigades;
  • Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon: 1 patrol craft;
  • Martinique: 1 patrol craft;

Patrol vessels in service

Inflatable in La Rochelle.

Class	Picture	Type	Ships	Displacement	Note
Patrol vessels (39 in Service)
Trident-class		Patrol boat	P671 Glaive	148 tonnes
Géranium-class		Patrol boat	P720 Géranium P722 Violette	100 tonnes
Jonquille-class		Patrol boat	P721 Jonquille P723 Jasmin	98 tonnes
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
Pétulante-class		Patrol craft	P778 Reseda A789 Melia	16 tonnes
Pavois-class		Patrol craft	P692 Pavois P693 Ecu P964 Rondache P695 Harnois P696 Haubert P697 Heaume P698 Brigantine P699 Gantelet	10,2 tonnes

See also

• Hong Kong Marine Police, an equivalent police force in Hong Kong
• Water Police
• United States Coast Guard

External links

• Official Site of the Gendarmerie Maritime French only
• Forum anciens Gendarmes Maritimes French only