Over 5,000 student police and gendarmes deployed as reinforcements

• 110,000 police and gendarmes are mobilized to enforce containment.
• To support them in this task, 3,000 gendarme students and 1,500 apprentice peacekeepers were screened across the country.
• Two of them, Alexandre and Clara, tell 20 Minutes about their first days in the field.

They have only been wearing uniforms and kepis for a few months. But these young recruits, who have not yet completed their training, were thrown into the field last week to lend a hand to the 100,000 law enforcement personnel deployed to enforce containment. The gendarmerie mobilized 3,700 gendarme students from its six non-commissioned officer schools and the officers' school of Melun. In the police, 1,500 student peacekeepers, from the 253 and 254th promotions, who left school prematurely to reinforce the enrollment, a small part of which was contaminated by the coronavirus.

Among them, Alexandre, 26 years old. The young man entered the Nîmes police academy in September 2019. Six months later, he was sent to the North, where he came from, to reinforce the staff of the Arras police station. "It happened suddenly," he says. I started last Monday, it was visiting premises, taking up arms… And I started my time cycle on Wednesday. The main part of its missions consists in "verifying the certificates" of displacement. For now, he observes that "people are doing very well" to this measure. He is also required to patrol alongside his colleagues and respond to emergencies.

"Adapting is part of the job"

Clara, 24, is a student policeman in Montluçon (Allier). This Toulousaine was sent to the Loire to reinforce the strength of the local brigade of Saint-Genest-Malifaux. "I arrived last Sunday, I was very well received, there is a very good atmosphere here," said the young woman who was "impatient" to be on the ground. Like her "more experienced" colleagues, Clara is a criminal investigation officer and is armed when she goes on patrol with them. One of them was appointed to be his tutor. "He is responsible for my training during my few months of internship," she explains.

Illustration of a police check during the containment in Rennes. - J. Gicquel / 20 Minutes

Daughter of a soldier, Clara "always wanted" to join the gendarmerie, like her two brothers. "It's a job that I really like," she continues, adding that she intends to "rather pursue a career as an investigator". Ultimately, she would like to join a research brigade to hunt down criminals and criminals. In the meantime, she and her new colleagues are taking care to "enforce all the measures put in place" to combat the spread of the virus on the territory. An unprecedented context for taking your first steps in this centuries-old institution. “But adapting is part of the job of the gendarmes. "

" In the first line "

"I'm glad to be there ... Anyway, we didn't have much choice either!" Smiled Alexandre. And the young policeman to continue: "Normally, we were supposed to do an internship and see different services. But ultimately, it is not worse because it allows you to focus on the main missions, we get to the point. It is ideal. His colleagues show a lot of pedagogy with him and he "learns a lot" by assisting them. Even for those who “have a thirty-year career”, the situation is unprecedented. And dangerous. "On the front line", the police and gendarmes are confronted "more than the others" at the risk of being contaminated by the virus, he recognizes.

#COVID ー 19 This week, 73 student peacekeepers and cadets from the Republic come to reinforce the police officers of the @PoliceNationale du 62. Objective: to strengthen our operational potential during the epidemic. At @VilleArras 17 staff arrived this morning. #Stay at pic.twitter.com/P9WPnDAWsH

Alexandre, who is not afraid of falling ill, especially dreads infecting his loved ones. “But we apply protective measures, both in terms of distance and hygiene. And people are very respectful to us with regard to all of this. After studying law for five years, the young man today "wants to make ground". When he has acquired more experience, "within a few years", he plans to take the internal competition to become an officer. Like Alexandre, Clara is not about to forget these first days spent on the ground “protecting the population”. "I will remember it!" It will remain a very good experience! "

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• Coronavirus
• Covid 19
• Society
• Containment
• Police
• Gendarmerie