In the turmoil of the post-war period, the Gendarmerie Nationale rebuilt its vehicle fleet by confiscating vehicles from the resistance or using the remains of army stocks. As a result, a small number of Peugeot models 202, 302 and 402 soon belonged to the brigades. These early service vehicles were mostly painted black; the now familiar blue of the gendarmerie only became the standard color in 1969/1970.
Estate cars before SUVs
From the 1950s onwards, the Gendarmerie Nationale structured its equipment purchases and began to order vehicles on a large scale. This was the beginning of a long-standing cooperation with the manufacturer from Sochaux, whose station wagons were particularly well suited to police operations.
The 203 Break was the first to be used by the gendarmerie, particularly in the newly created traffic police brigades in a France that was in the midst of a boom. Each decade brought the gendarmerie more station wagons of the lion brand (attention, number salad): 403, 404, 204, 304, 305, 504, 505 and 306, followed later by vehicles that boasted an even more practical and spacious interior, such as the Peugeot Expert.
Officers' saloons
In addition to the station wagons, Peugeot's collaboration with the gendarmerie included many other models, starting with the popular 205 and 206 models, many of which transported the brigades, through to the 306, which was mainly used by the highway police. Not forgetting the 203, 403, 305 or 505 limousines, which were not in gendarmerie blue but in black or gray as official vehicles for the officers.
The special models
As the gendarmerie is responsible for the security of the entire national territory - inner cities, highways, mountains, country roads - and all its constituent parts, i.e. in France and the overseas territories, it must be able to draw on a broadly diversified fleet of vehicles. As a result, it sometimes needed special models.
Drivers of the 1980s and 1990s will remember the Peugeot 405 T16 with 147 kW (200 hp) and the Peugeot 306 S16 with 122 kW (167 hp) of the Brigades Rapides d'Intervention, which were used on the French highways.
Many people are also familiar with the estate versions of the 203, 403, 404, 504 and 505 models of the Garde Républicaine, which were responsible for the security of the Tour de France. Less well known, but just as important, were a dozen Peugeot 806 minivans that were used to escort nuclear convoys in the 1990s.
The Gendarmerie Nationale has always had a fleet of off-road vehicles to be able to intervene in the most difficult terrain. In the 1980s, it took its cue from the French army and opted for the Peugeot P4, which was mainly reserved for the mobile gendarmerie squadrons. In the overseas departments, the station wagon versions of the Peugeot 504 and 505 4x4 prepared by Dangel enabled the gendarmes to drive on rough terrain. Finally, in 2004, some rare examples of the Peugeot 206 with four-wheel drive prepared by the FAM were delivered to certain brigades.
Since the 1940s, Peugeot models have also been used to transport gendarmerie officers and their livestock. The Peugeot J7 and later Peugeot Expert vans were used to transport the horses of the Republican Guard. The dog brigades used the Peugeot 203 and then the 504 station wagon before switching to more spacious high-roof station wagons and vans.
Those interested can find out more about the close relationship between Peugeot and the Gendarmerie Nationale in the book "Les voitures de la Gendarmerie Nationale" by Pascal Meunier and Laurent Jacquot, published by E-T-A-I.
