The National Police (, ), formerly known as the , is one of two national police forces of France, the other being the National Gendarmerie. The National Police is the country's main civil law enforcement agency, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. By contrast, the National Gendarmerie has primary jurisdiction in smaller towns, as well as in rural and border areas. The National Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior and has about 145,200 employees (as of 2015). Young French citizens can fulfill their optional national service () in the national police force.

The National Police operates mostly in cities and large towns. In that context, it conducts security operations such as patrols, traffic control and identity checks. Under the orders and supervision of investigating magistrates of the judiciary, it conducts criminal inquiries and serves search warrants. It also maintains specific services ('judicial police') for these inquiries.

History The national police force was created on 14 August 1941, under the Vichy regime, by a decree signed by the head of government, Philippe Pétain. This decree implements the law of 23 April 1941, creating the Police nationale: the forces of the Sûreté nationale (with the former services of the Sûreté générale, which became the Sûreté nationale in 1934, and the municipal police units, which became "étatisées" for the police forces of towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants) and the police services of the Préfecture de police in Paris are thus united. It was dissolved after the Liberation, by order of the Provisional Government of the French Republic on 16 November 1944. It was revived by Law no. 66-492 of 9 July 1966, on the organization of the police in France. This law unified the Sûreté Nationale and the Préfecture de Police.

Organization The National Police is commanded by the Director-General (), who is currently Louis Laugier. The Director-General is personally in command of the General Directorate of the National Police () (DGPN) and responsible to the Minister of the Interior.

The Prefect of Police manages the that includes all police and security services in Paris, the three neighbouring departments of the region (Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne), and the airports of Roissy, Orly and Le Bourget. The Paris Police Prefecture is a separate law enforcement jurisdiction. While its officers belong to the National Police, their chief (the Police Prefect) acts completely independently from the Director-General of the National Police, reporting directly to the French Minister of the Interior. The elevated status of the Paris Police Prefect is also underlined by the fact that he/she is also head of the Île-de-France Defence and Security Zone (). The police forces in the other departments of the Île-de-France region are under the direct command of a (Department Prefect), being himself under the supervision of the as far as the active on-the-field police work is concerned, and under the control of the Director-General for the rest.

The National Police is subdivided into (central) directorates, which are further composed of sub-directorates: (Central Directorate for Recruitment and Training of the National Police; DCRFPN): formed from the fusion of the former (Directorate of Training of the National Police; DFPN) and (Directorate of Administration of the National Police; DAPN). It was established on 1 September 2010 and employs approximately 3 000 people. (National Directorate of the Judicial Police; DNPJ): charged with all criminal investigations under direction of magistrates. This mission is fulfilled in the Paris area by the which is nicknamed after its address "" (often without the number), and is a metonym for the Police generally; the national headquarters of the PJ, as it is usually called in French, are actually located at 11 rue des Saussaies, within the Ministry of the Interior). The main Sub-Directorates of the Judicial Police are: "OFAST" (Anti-Narcotics Office): Responsible investigating drug trafficking networks in the country and coordinating national drug control efforts with other agencies such as police and customs. "SDLCODS" (Sub-Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Specialized Delinquency). Includes all the National Investigation Offices specializing in Organized and Financial Crime, except for the National Itinerant Criminality Struggle Office (which falls under the ): "OCLCO" (Central Office for Combating Organized Crime): Specializes in investigating armed banditry (kidnapping, murder, robbery and rape) by organized criminal groups. "OCRTEH" (Central Office for the Repression of Human Trafficking): Combats sexual exploitation crimes like sex trafficking and pimping. "OCRFM" (Central Office for the Suppression of Counterfeiting): Investigates counterfeiting of currency and industrial goods (tobacco, branded products). "OCBC" (Central Office for Combating Trafficking in Cultural Goods): Specializes in investigating the theft and trafficking of art and artifacts from foreign archaeological sites. "OCRVP" (Central Office for the Repression of Violence Against Persons): Handles particularly complex cases involving crimes against persons including cold cases, hate crimes, sectarian violence, and crimes committed against French nationals abroad. "OFMIN" (Office for Minors): Specializes in combating violence against children including school harassment, child pornography, and family sexual violence. "SDLCF" (Sub-Directorate for Combating Financial Crime): Consists of two sub-directorates: "OCRGDF" (Central Office for the Repression of Major Financial Crime): Specializes in investigating major money laundering cases. "OCLCIFF" (Central Office for Combating Corruption and Financial and Tax Offenses) "SDAT" (Anti-Terrorist Sub-Directorate): elite counter-terrorist task-force. "SDPTS" (Sub-directorate of forensics and crime scene investigation) "OFAC" (The Office for the Fight Against Cybercrime): Investigates major instances of cyberattacks against computer systems and illegal activities on the dark web. "SCCJ" (Central Racing and Gaming Service): Responsible for enforcing national laws on gambling and handles litigation related to racing and gaming. (Sub-directorate for Strategy and Territorial Management): The newest sub-directorate created on July 1, 2023 whose objective is to promote and implement the policies created by the central and territorial judicial police services, with the goal of improving inter-agency cooperation, coordinating victim support services, and conduct criminological research. (National Directorate of Public Security; DNSP): Patrol and response duties, misdemeanour investigations, emergency help; this Directorate comprises approximately 80% of the workforce. The DNSP is the National Police's equivalent of the Departmental Gendarmerie. Central apparatus () 92 départemental directorates in metropolitan France (sing. (DDSP), followed by the département's number. For example the DDSP 62 is the Departement Public Security Directorate of Pas-de-Calais). The three départements of the region (Seine-Saint-Denis, Hauts-de-Seine and Val-de-Marne) were absorbed into the Paris Police Prefecture by Presidential Decree No. 2009-898 of 24 July 2009 and fused into the Proximity Security Directorate of the Parisian Agglomeration ( (DSPAP)), which includes four Proximity Security Territorial Directorates (sing. (DTSP)): DTSP 75 for the city of Paris; DTSP 92 in Nanterre for Hauts-de-Seine; DTSP 93 in Bobigny for Seine-Saint-Denis and DTSP 94 in Créteil for Val-de-Marne. 7 overseas directorates: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, La Réunion, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Mayotte. (National Directorate of Border Police; DNPAF): performs identity checks with "La douane française" (official name: Direction générale des Douanes et Droits Indirects) and handles illegal immigration. (General Inspectorate of the National Police, IGPN): headed by the Inspector General and responsible for internal affairs. In the Paris Area, these tasks are assigned to a dedicated service—the (General Inspectorate of the Services). (Central Directorate of the Republican Security Companies; DCCRS): riot police, motorway police, and mountain rescue; commonly referred to as the CRS. (Technical International Police Cooperation Service; SCTIP). (Important Persons Protection Service; SDLP): VIP protection for people such as foreign diplomats and also responsible for the protection of the President of the French Republic through the . (Research, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence; RAID) The elite counter-terror unit of the National Police and counterpart to the GIGN of the National Gendarmerie. The commander of RAID also doubles as the chief of the National Police Intervention Force (French abbreviation FIPN). The RAID is headquartered in Bièvres, Essonne, approximately 20 kilometres (12 miles) southwest of Paris. As it is on standby for deployment nationwide, the primary intervention unit for reaction in Paris is the (BRI-BAC) - the Research and Intervention Brigade of the Paris Police Prefecture's Judicial Police Regional Directorate. The function of the FIPN is that of a coordinating organ between the RAID and the BRI. The RAID used to operate closely with the UCLAT (, Counterterror Coordination Unit). On 27 December 2019 the UCLAT was absorbed into the ', the French domestic intelligence and security agency and the latter took over the close co-operation with the RAID. Territorial Detachments. The Central Directorate of Public Security - the National Police's public order uniformed branch had its own tactical intervention units, the (Intervention Groups of the National Police (GIPN)).Between 2016 and 2019 these units were absorbed into the RAID as its territorial detachments (). 10 territorial detachments in metropolitan France: Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Rennes, Strasbourg, Montpellier, Nancy and Toulouse; 3 territorial detachments in the French overseas territories: Nouméa in New Caledonia, Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe and Saint-Denis in Réunion.

Former directorates As of 1 July 2008, the following two National Police directorates: (Directorate of Territorial Surveillance; DST) – counter-intelligence, counterespionage, counterterrorism (Central Directorate of General Information; DCRG or RG) – police intelligence, records, research, analysis (and also policing gambling and horse racing, two activities which are now in the hands of the "Service central des courses et jeux" SCCJ, a unit of the Judicial Police) were merged into one single domestic intelligence agency titled the (DCRI). The DCRI was placed directly under the Ministry of the Interior.

Ranks

The National Police is divided into three corps, in the terminology of the French Civil Service, in ascending order of seniority: The (Management and Enforcement Corps) corresponds approximately to the enlisted and non-commissioned ranks in a military force, or to constables and sergeants in a British-style civil police force.

The (Command Corps) corresponds approximately to the lower commissioned ranks of a military force, or the grades of inspector and chief inspector in a British-style civil police force. These ranks were previously known as if detectives or if uniformed, although CRS officers always used the current ranks.

The (Conception and Direction Corps) corresponds approximately to the higher commissioned ranks of a military force, or to grades of Superintendent and chief officers in a British-style civil police force.

All the ranks insignia may be worn either on the shoulders or on the chest. In the latter they are square-shaped.

Prior to 1995 two civilian corps ("" and "") existed in which plainclothes officers were given the training and authority to conduct investigations. The closest American equivalent is the detective branch. Requirements