French gendarmerie and police: what's the difference?

"La gendarmerie et la police françaises : quelle est la différence ?"
French C1 writing exercise

Camille explains the difference(s) between French gendarmerie and French police.

Pay attention to the hints!

Some vocabulary you may want to look up before or during this exercise: "to wonder what...", "the gendarmerie", "a force (police)", "to be responsible for (=in charge of)", "public safety", "the first of which...", "a gendarme / a police officer", "military personnel", "whereas", "a civil servant [US: state employee]", "to be under the authority of", "the Ministry of the Interior / the Ministry of Armed Forces (France)", "to be partly right", "to be linked to [a place]", "strict regulations", "barracks (for military personnel)", "a geographical area", "to operate [somewhere]", "an urban area/a rural area", "to cover [somewhere]", "the outskirts", "to happen to [do]", "to collaborate", "a complex investigation", "a law enforcement operation", "thank you for [doing]".

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE
Last updated: 2024-10-10

I’ll give you some sentences to translate into French

  • I’ll show you where you make mistakes
  • I’ll keep track of what you need to practise
  • Change my choices if you want
Start the exercise
How the test works
You’ll practise: Le Présent (Indicatif), Préposition, Adverbe

Here's a preview of the text for the writing challenge, when you're ready click the start button above:

- Camille, I've always wondered what the difference is between the gendarmerie and the police in France. - What an excellent question! Although both forces are responsible for public safety, there are important differences, the first of which is their status. Gendarmes are military personnel, whereas police officers are civil servants [US: state employees]. - Really? I thought that both services were under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior. - You're partly right. But although they are indeed linked to the Ministry of the Interior, the gendarmerie also reports to the Ministry of Armed Forces. That's why gendarmes follow stricter regulations, like the obligation to live in barracks for example. - OK, I understand. And do they work in the same geographical areas? - Not really. The national police operates mostly in big cities and urban areas, and the gendarmerie covers rural areas, small towns as well as the outskirts. So, if you're in the countryside, you'll see gendarmes more often, and if you're in the city, it'll be police officers. - And do they happen to collaborate sometimes? - Yes, it can happen in complex investigations or for law enforcement operations. - Thank you for explaining these nuances to me!

Clever stuff happening!