Public Force | |
---|---|
La Force publique (French) | |
Service branches | |
Leadership | |
Commander-in-Chief | Albert II |
Minister of the Interior | Patrice Cellario |
Superior Commander of the Public Services | Colonel Tony Varo [1] |
Personnel | |
Conscription | None |
Active personnel | 250 |
The Public Force (French: La Force Publique) [2] are the military force of Monaco. However, the country has a very limited military capability and depends almost entirely upon its larger neighbour, France, for defence. [3] [4] In total, there are over 250 people employed as military personnel in some form. [5] [6] There is no conscription in Monaco.
Its branches are the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince and the Corps des Sapeurs-Pompiers de Monaco.
The Public Services are under the joint command of the Supreme Commander of the Public Services (French: Le Commandant supérieur de la Force publique), currently Colonel Tony Varo. [2]
Under the chief commander, each of the two principal military corps is headed by a Chief of the Corps, [2] who holds the rank of commandant or lieutenant colonel, according to personal seniority. The military band is commanded by the Chief of the Orchestra, with the rank of commandant. [2]
Some military roles are assigned to the civil police, such as border patrol and border defence, which are the responsibility of a special police unit officially named the "Maritime and Heliport Police Division," and which operates on land and sea using patrol boats and high-speed surveillance boats. [7] Four patrol boats are operated by the Corps des Sapeurs-Pompiers (fire-fighters) and the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince (prince's bodyguards).[ citation needed ]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(April 2024) |
Two full-time militarised armed corps exist under the operational direction of the chief commander, and the political control of the Department of the Interior. One is the Corps des Sapeurs-Pompiers de Monaco, and the other is the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince. Both units are part of both military and civil defence plans and are key to the "ORMOS Red Plan" which makes provision for the evacuation of Monaco in case of natural disaster, or civil emergency.
Describing itself as a military force, [8] the Corps consists of 10 officers, 26 non-commissioned officers and 99 other ranks (with 25 civilian employees), providing fire, hazardous materials, rescue, and emergency medical services. [9] The officers' ranks (in descending order of seniority) are: Colonel, Lieutenant-Colonel, Commandant, Captain, Lieutenant, and Sub-Lieutenant. There are a further nine ranks of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel. Officers generally have served in the French military's fire service. Based at two barracks (one in La Condamine and one in Fontvieille), the Corps is equipped with fire engines, rescue vehicles and a range of specialist vehicles, including a fire boat and sealed tracked vehicles for entering Monaco's railway tunnels during an emergency.
Beyond fire-fighting duties, the Corps has an extensive civil defence brief. Its personnel are trained in the use of firearms, and the Corps has a central armoury. Personnel are trained to handle chemical incidents, and have specialist chemical incident vehicles and equipment. They are also equipped with ambulances and personnel have paramedic training.
Literally translated "Company of Carabiniers of the Prince", the English-language version of the official Government website translates the name as "The Palace Guards". [10] The force was established in 1817 by Prince Honoré, administrator on behalf of his father, Prince Honoré IV. Originally an infantry unit, in 1904 they replaced the previous (now disbanded) "Guard Company" as the official Palace Guard of the royal family. [10]
The Company is of a similar size to the Corps des Sapeurs-Pompiers. At the summer of 2020 the Government reported the total strength of the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince as 124, consisting of 3 officers, 24 non-commissioned officers, and 97 enlisted men (with another 14 civilian employees). [10] Each officer has trained and served with the French military. Its primary duty is the defence of the prince and the Prince's Palace in the Monaco-Ville (old town) quartier of Monaco. By extension, it also has a role in guarding members of the judiciary, who administer justice in the name of the prince.
There are a number of specialist units within the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince, which include a motorcycle section (for rapid-response and motorcycle outriding); a bodyguard and protection unit; a diving unit with military, rescue and scientific capabilities; and a military first-aid unit that provides first aid and ambulance cover at public and sporting events. [11]
The ceremonial "changing of the guard" at 11:55 am each day attracts large numbers of tourists. The ceremony is more than just a tourist spectacle, as this small military force is the front line of defence of the Monegasque princely family.
Despite its title of "military orchestra", this section, which is attached to the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince, provides a full range of military music, including an orchestra, a ceremonial marching band, and state trumpeters, under the command of a Chef de l'Orchestre, with the rank of Commandant (Major). [2] The band was established in 1978 and consists of 24 soldiers. [10]
The rank insignia of commissioned officers.
Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | Officer cadet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Commandant en Chef | Colonel | Lieutenant-colonel | Commandant | Capitaine | Lieutenant | Sous-Lieutenant | Assistant |
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Adjudant-chef | Adjudant | Maréchal-des-logis-major | Maréchal-des-logis-chef | Maréchal-des-logis | Brigadier | Carabinier de première classe | Carabinier de deuxième classe |
The minister of the Department of the Interior is appointed by the prince of Monaco for one five-year term, and is mainly responsible for both policing and military activity within Monaco. [12]
Ministers of the Department of the Interior (conseiller de gouvernement pour l'Intérieur):
A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses, and road and airfield construction and repair.
A carabinier is in principle a soldier armed with a carbine, musket, or rifle, which became commonplace by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The word is derived from the identical French word carabinier.
Commandant is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police rank. It is also often used to refer to the commander of a military prison or prison camp.
A royal guard or the palace guard, is a group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection of a royal family member, such as a king or queen, or prince or princess. They often are an elite unit of the regular armed forces, or are designated as such, and may maintain special rights or privileges.
The Paris Fire Brigade is a French Army unit which serves as the primary fire and rescue service for Paris, the city's inner suburbs and certain sites of national strategic importance.
The fire service in France is organised into local fire services which mostly cover the Departments of France, with a few exceptions. There are two types of fire service:
The Marseille Naval Fire Battalion, is the fire and rescue service for the city of Marseille.
The Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince is the Infantry branch of the Force Publique, and one of the limited number of militaries that recruits foreigners. Although Monaco's defence is the responsibility of France, Monaco maintains a small force for the protection of the Sovereign and the Prince's Palace. Formed by Prince Honoré IV in 1817, the unit was re-organized in 1909.
The Haitian National Police is the law enforcement and de facto police force of Haiti. It was created in 1995 to bring public security under civilian control as mandated in Haiti's constitution. As of 2023, the force has 9,000 active duty officers.
The Public Security of Monaco is the national police force of the Principality of Monaco. It is subordinated from the Monegasque Department of Interior and consists of 515 men and women. With 515 police officers for 35,000 people in 198 hectares, Monaco has the largest per-capita and per-area police force and police presence in the world. Its police includes a specialist unit which operates patrol and surveillance boats.
The service revolver model 1873 Chamelot-Delvigne was the first double-action revolver used by the French Army. It was produced by Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne from 1873 to 1887 in about 337,000 copies. Although replaced by the Modele 1892 revolver, it was nevertheless widely used during the First World War and issued to reserve units in 1940. The French Resistance made widespread use of it during the German occupation.
Commandant is a military rank used in many countries, where it is usually equivalent to the rank of major.
The National Defence Medal is a French military decoration. It was created by Charles Hernu, Minister of Defence and established by decree on 21 April 1982. It rewards particularly honourable service rendered by military personnel for their participation in operational activities. The medal has three levels: Gold, Silver and Bronze.
Carabinier originally a cavalry soldier armed with a carbine, may also refer to the following:
Major is the seniormost non-commissioned officer rank in France and other Francophone countries. Unlike most other countries which use the old European rank system, France uses Commandant as its lowest ranking senior officer.
The Prince's Band of Carabiniers is a part-time military band assigned to provide musical support to the Prince Albert II of Monaco, who is the head of state and the ceremonial head of the Force Publique. Its home unit is the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince, which is responsible for the country's defence. All members of the band are trained dually music and in the trades of non-band members. The 26-members of the band are referred to as "rifle-musicians" while the band director is titled a Maréchal des Logis Chef. In 1978, the title of "Fanfare de la Companies des Carabiniers" was adopted.
Corps des Sapeurs-Pompiers de Monaco is a firefighting and civil defense department of Monaco. The Department is responsible for fighting fires and risks of all kinds, providing personal assistance and protecting property on the territory of the Principality of Monaco and neighboring French municipalities on the basis of a 1970 bilateral Mutual Assistance Agreement.