Comparative gendarmerie officer ranks of Francophone countries

Rank comparison chart of officers for gendarmeries of Francophone states. In France and some Francophone nations, the gendarmerie is a branch of the armed forces that is responsible for internal security in parts of the territory (primarily in rural areas and small towns in the case of France), with additional duties as military police for the armed forces. ^[1] In the mid-twentieth century, a number of former French mandates and colonial possessions adopted gendarmeries after independence. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

History

Through the French colonial empire the gendarmerie was employed as a military and policing force throughout French colonies, ^{[5] [3]} with Gendarmes from France being deployed in every colony in 1900. ^[6] The gendarmerie would also recruit personnel from the local populations, entrenching the idea of a gendarmerie in the colonial societies. ^{[7] [8]}

In the mid-twentieth century, a number of former French mandates and colonial possessions adopted gendarmeries after independence. ^{[2] [3]} These included Algeria, ^[9] Chad, ^[10] Djibouti, ^[11] the Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Madagascar, Morocco, ^{[9] [12]} Senegal, ^[13] Syria, ^[14] Tunisia, ^{[9] [15]} and the Republic of the Congo. ^[16]

Officers

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
Burkinabè National Gendarmerie v t e
			Général d'armée		Général de corps d'armée		Général de division		Général de brigade		Colonel-major	Colonel	Lieutenant-colonel		Commandant		Capitaine		Lieutenant			Sous-lieutenant
Cameroonian National Gendarmerie [17] v t e
			Général d'armée		Général de corps d'armée		Général de division		Général de brigade		Colonel		Lieutenant-Colonel		Chef d'Escadron		Capitaine		Lieutenant			Sous-Lieutenant
Royal Canadian Mounted Police [18] v t e
			Commissioner Commissaire		Deputy commissioner Sous-commissaire				Assistant commissioner Commissaire adjoint		Chief superintendent Surintendant principal		Superintendent Surintendant		Inspector Inspecteur
Chadian National Gendarmerie v t e
							Général de division		Général de brigade		Colonel		Lieutenant-Colonel		Commandant		Capitaine		Lieutenant			Sous-Lieutenant
Congolese Gendarmerie [19] v t e
			Général d'armée		Général de corps		Général de division		Général de brigade		Colonel		Lieutenant-Colonel		Commandant		Capitaine		Lieutenant			Sous-lieutenant
French Gendarmerie [20] v t e
			Général d'armée		Général de corps d'armée		Général de division		Général de brigade		Colonel		Lieutenant-Colonel		Chef d'Escadron		Capitaine		Lieutenant			Sous-Lieutenant
Ivory Coast Gendarmerie v t e
			Général d'armée		Général de corps d'armée		Général de division		Général de brigade		Colonel-major	Colonel	Lieutenant-colonel		Chef D'Escadron		Capitaine		Lieutenant			Sous-lieutenant
Mauritius Police Force v t e
					Commissioner		Deputy Commissioner		Assistant Commissioner		Superintendent		Assistant Superintendent		Deputy Assistant Superintendent		Chief Inspector		Inspector			Cadet Officer
Army of Monaco v t e
	Général en chef des armées										Colonel		Lieutenant-colonel		Commandant		Capitaine		Lieutenant			Sous-Lieutenant
Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie v t e
					Général de corps d'armée		Général de division		Général de brigade		Colonel Major	Colonel	Lieutenant-Colonel		Commandant		Capitaine		Lieutenant			Sous-lieutenant
National Gendarmerie of Niger [21] v t e
			Général d'armée		Général de corps d'armée		Général de division		Général de brigade		Colonel		Lieutenant-colonel		Commandant		Capitaine		Lieutenant			Sous-lieutenant
Senegalese Gendarmerie v t e
					Général de corps d'armée		Général de division		Général de brigade		Colonel		Lieutenant-colonel		Commandant		Capitaine		Lieutenant			Sous-lieutenant
Togolese National Gendarmerie [22] v t e
			Général d'armée		Général de corps d'armée		Général de division		Général de brigade		Colonel		Lieutenant-colonel		Commandant		Capitaine		Lieutenant			Sous-Lieutenant
Tunisian National Guard [23] v t e
									أمير لواء 'amir liwa'		عميد Amid	عقيد Aqid	مقدم Muqaddam		رائد Ra'id		نقيب Naqib		ملازم أول Mulazim awwal			ملازم Mulazim
									Général de brigade		Colonel-major	Colonel	Lieutenant-colonel		Commandant		Capitaine		Lieutenant			Sous-lieutenant
Vanuatu Mobile Forces v t e
							Major general Bigfala Jenerol		Brigadier		Colonel Kolonel		Lieutenant colonel Lietnen Kolonel		Major Bigfala		Captain Kapten		First lieutenant Fas Lietnen			Second lieutenant Seken Lietnen
Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers

References

1. Lioe, Kim Eduard (2010). Armed Forces in Law Enforcement Operations? – The German and European Perspective (1989 ed.). Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 52–57. ISBN   978-3-642-15433-1.
2. Lutterbeck 2018, p. 8.
3. "La gendarmerie dans le monde" [The Gendarmerie in the world]. Ministère de l’Intérieur (in French). Archived from the original on 25 April 2024.
4. Kirisci, Mustafa (2020). "Who Fights Terror: Gendarmerie Forces and Terrorist Group Termination". Terrorism and Political Violence. 34 (4): 746–771. doi:10.1080/09546553.2020.1741355.
5. Haberbusch, Benoît (2014). "La gendarmerie de l'outre-mer en 1914" [The Overseas Gendarmerie in 1914](PDF). Histoire et Patrimoine des Gendarmes (in French) (9): 62–71. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2024.
6. Haberbusch, Benoît (2000). "La gendarmerie coloniale au début du siècle" [The colonial gendarmerie at the beginning of the century]. Revue historique des Armées (in French). 218 (218): 98–107. doi:10.3406/rharm.2000.4908.
7. Kalman, Samuel (Summer 2020). "Introduction Policing the French Empire: Colonial Law Enforcement and the Search for Racial-Territorial Hegemony". Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques. 46 (2). Berghahn Books: 1–8. doi:10.3167/hrrh.2020.460201. ISSN   1939-2419.
8. Thomas, Martin (Summer 2010). "The gendarmerie, information collection, and colonial violence in French North Africa between the wars". Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques. 36 (2). Berghahn Books. doi:10.3167/hrrh.2010.360206. ISSN   1939-2419.
9. Lutterbeck 2018, p. 38.
10. "Gendarmerie nationale tchadienne" [Chadian National Gendarmerie]. force-publique.net (in French). Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
11. "National Gendarmerie of Djibouti". FIEP . Archived from the original on 13 November 2024.
12. "The Moroccan Gendarmerie Royale at the service of citizens". FIEP . Archived from the original on 14 May 2024.
13. "Senegalese National Gendarmerie". FIEP . Archived from the original on 8 August 2024.
14. Deep, Daniel (2012). Occupying Syria Under the French Mandate: Insurgency, Space and State Formation. Cambridge University Press. p. 204. ISBN   978-1-107-00006-3.
15. "Tunisian National Guard". FIEP . Archived from the original on 20 May 2024.
16. Clark, John; Decalo, Samuel (2012). Historical Dictionary of Republic of the Congo. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. pp. 44–49. ISBN   978-0-8108-7989-8.
17. "Grades designations". Ministry of Defence . Archived from the original on 13 October 2024.
18. "Ranks of the Force". rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
19. "Grades appellations distinctions". defense.gouv.cg (in French). Ministry of National Defense (Republic of the Congo). Retrieved 7 June 2021.
20. "Quels sont les grades et les évolutions de carrière dans la Gendarmerie Nationale ?" [What are the ranks and career progression in the National Gendarmerie?]. Police Nationale (in French). Archived from the original on 9 November 2024.
21. Bureau international des droits des enfants (December 2012). "État des Lieux: Formation des forces de défense et de sécurité sur les droit de l'enfant au Niger" (PDF) (in French). p. 34. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
22. "Comment reconnaître les grades dans la gendarmerie togolaise?". 24heureinfo.com (in French). 12 August 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
23. "Statut particulier des agents de la Garde nationale". interieur.gov.tn (in French). Tunisian Ministry of the Interior. Retrieved 10 June 2021.

Works cited

• Lutterbeck, Derek (2018) [2013]. The Paradox of Gendarmeries: Between Expansion, Demilitarization and Dissolution (Report). DCAF. doi: 10.5334/bbs . ISBN   978-1-911529-35-4. ISSN   2571-9297.