The French Armed Forces are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' military reserve force. As stipulated by France's constitution, the president of France serves as commander-in-chief of the French military. France has the eighth largest defence budget in the world and the second largest in the European Union (EU). It also has the largest military by size in the EU. A 2015 Credit Suisse report ranked the French Armed Forces as the world's sixth most powerful military.
The GIGN is the elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection, and targeting organized crime.
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.
Law enforcement in France is centralized at the national level. Recently, legislation has allowed local governments to hire their own police officers which are called the police municipale.
Authority and management of civil law and order in Algeria is shared by the Sûreté Nationale, or Directorate General for National Security (DGSN), the civilian police force, under the Ministry of Interior, and the Gendarmerie Nationale under the Ministry of National Defence.
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, 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 following outline is provided as an overview of, and introduction to Argentina:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Belgium:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Germany:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Gibraltar:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Guyana:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Montserrat:
Morocco- sovereign country located in western North Africa. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. It has international borders with Algeria to the east, Spain to the north, and a disputed border with Western Sahara to the south.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Portugal:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Ireland:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Romania:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Switzerland:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Andorra:
French Guiana is an overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west and Brazil to the east and south, French Guiana covers a total area of 84,000 km2 (32,000 sq mi) and a land area of 83,534 km2 (32,253 sq mi), and is inhabited by 295,385 people.
