Air France Flight 8969 was an Air France flight that was hijacked on 24 December 1994 by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers. The terrorists murdered three passengers and their intention was either to detonate the aircraft over the Eiffel Tower or the Tour Montparnasse in Paris. When the aircraft reached Marseille, the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN), a tier one counterterrorism and hostage rescue unit of the French National Gendarmerie, stormed the plane and killed all four hijackers.
The GIGN is the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection, and targeting organized crime.
The Parachute Intervention Squadron of the National Gendarmerie was a parachute-trained tactical unit of the French Gendarmerie. The squadron was formed in 1984 with personnel from EPGM, a one-of-a-kind parachute squadron that had been created within the mobile gendarmerie in 1971 and was disestablished at that date. EPIGN, was based in Versailles-Satory with its sister unit GIGN. Besides its primary mission of providing heavy support and reinforcement to GIGN, EPIGN soon developed its own set of missions in the fields of protection and observation. It was finally absorbed, together with the "old" GIGN, into the newly reorganized GIGN in September 2007.
The National Police, formerly known as the Sûreté nationale, 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. Young French citizens can fulfill their mandatory service in the police force.
The Special Intervention Group is a tier one special forces unit created in Algeria in 1987, initially with 400 members.
The Central Directorate of Public Security (DCSP) is the uniformed patrol and response arm of the French National Police responsible for keeping the peace and maintaining public order in the cities and large towns of France. Established on 23 April 1941, and its current structure operates under the Decree of 23 December 1993Aleksander Olech, French and Polish fight against terrorism, Poznan 2022, p. 90; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359135918_French_and_Polish_fight_against_terrorism.
A Search and Intervention Brigade, Investigation and Intervention Brigade or Anti-Gang Brigade) is a unit of the French National Police. The first units were formed in 1964 and carried out their tasks under the command of the Paris prefecture.
Recherche, Assistance, Intervention, Dissuasion, commonly abbreviated RAID, is an elite tactical unit of the French National Police. Founded in 1985, it is headquartered in Bièvres, Essonne, approximately 20 kilometres southwest of Paris. RAID is the National Police counterpart of the National Gendarmerie's GIGN. Both units share responsibility for the French territory.
The Force d'action navale is the 9,600-man and about 100-ship force of surface warships of the French Navy. As of August 2023, it is commanded by L’amiral Nicolas Vaujour.
The Maritime Gendarmerie 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. 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 service. They also carry out provost duties within the French Navy.
The National Gendarmerie is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, with additional duties from the Ministry of Armed Forces. Its responsibilities include policing smaller towns, suburbs and rural areas, crowd and riot control, and criminal investigation, including cybercrime. By contrast, the National Police is a civilian law enforcement agency that is in charge of policing cities and larger towns. Because of its military status, the Gendarmerie also fulfills a range of military and defence missions. The Gendarmerie has a strength of around 102,269 people.
The Direction régionale de la police judiciaire de la préfecture de police de Paris, often called the 36 quai des Orfèvres or simply the 36 (trente-six) by the address of its headquarters, is the seat of the Paris regional division of the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police. Its 2,200 officers investigate about 15,000 crimes and offences a year.
The Mobile Gendarmerie (GM) is a subdivision of the French National Gendarmerie whose main mission is to maintain public order and general security. Contrary to the Departmental Gendarmerie, whose jurisdiction is limited to specific parts of the territory, the Mobile Gendarmerie can operate anywhere in France and even abroad as the Gendarmerie is a component of the French Armed Forces. Although the term "mobile" has been used at different times in the 19th century, the modern Mobile Gendarmerie was created in 1921.
The Mauritius Police Force (MPF) is the national law enforcement agency of Mauritius. The MPF carries out police, security, and military functions on Mauritius, with about 12,500 police officers under the command of the Commissioner of Police. The MPF is part of the Home Affairs Division, which operates under the aegis of the Prime Minister's Office.
The National Police Intervention Force (FIPN) is an operational structure that coordinates various police tactical units of the French National Police. When activated, it is composed of RAID and its seven regional branches, BRI-BAC, the Anticommando brigade of the Paris Research and Intervention Brigade and the three GIPN units based overseas. The RAID commander assumes operational command of FIPN upon activation.
The Algerian People's National Armed Forces (ANP) has several special forces regiments as well as several specialized regiments.
The Special Intervention Detachment is a police tactical unit of the Algerian Gendarmerie Nationale. It specializes in the fight against terrorism, the release of hostages and the close protection of high-ranking personalities.
The Police Special Operations Group is a police tactical unit of the Algerian Police. It was created the July 22, 2016, the unit participates throughout the national territory in the fight against all forms of crime, organised crime, terrorism and hostage-taking.
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