- While the population has been confined for almost three weeks, the men of the GIGN remain alert "in order to respond to any threat that would require [his] engagement", explains the commander of the unit, General Laurent Phélip.
- In an interview with 20 Minutes , he details how this elite unit adapted its operation in order to "guarantee a sufficient number of operational personnel or personnel with specific healthy roles", to go into intervention.
- “We are not currently planning major collective training. There is more emphasis on individual training, shooting exercises, for example, ”said the general in particular.
General Laurent Phélip has commanded the GIGN (intervention group of the national gendarmerie) for three years. Despite the confinement linked to the coronavirus epidemic, this elite unit remains on its guard and is ready to intervene, particularly in the event of an attack. "If it is certain that a scenario of the type of that of November 13, targeting football matches, coffee terraces and a concert does not make sense today, the fact remains that Preparing for the worst remains our first duty, "explains General Laurent Phélip in an interview he gave us this Friday morning.
Individual training, “on the job” work… It also details for 20 Minutes how the GIGN organized itself to deal with the situation.
Does GIGN remain operational during containment? If yes, why is it important?
Naturally, the GIGN remains and must remain operational during containment, in order to respond to any threat that would require our engagement. Confinement does not change our posture in the face of the terrorist threat. We remain vigilant and able to intervene on all types of targets.
If it is certain that a scenario of the type of that of November 13, targeting football matches, coffee terraces and a concert does not make sense today, the fact remains that preparing for the worst remains our first duty. So we try to think of what the opponent could do in this period of confinement and we imagine the parade.
We also pay particular attention to the prison environment and think about how to act in the event of a major conflagration, if the means of the prison administration could no longer suffice. Finally, we have strengthened our position overseas, particularly in the West Indies and Guyana.
Was the group prepared to work during an epidemic?
We can equip a hundred operational staff so that it can intervene in conditions where the air is not breathable. We know how to work in a vitiated atmosphere, in an NRBC atmosphere (nuclear, radiological, biological, chemical) as we say, with combinations. But here, it is a "viral" war - one would say by abuse of "bacteriological" language - it is a little different.
The particularity of such a crisis, for a counterterrorism unit, is not to intervene differently, but to guarantee a sufficient number of operational personnel or personnel with specific healthy roles, to leave on a heavy blow. Today, we have no particular concern.
Three weeks ago, two GIGN members tested positive for Covid-19. But there has never been more than 5% of personnel quarantined for security, and none has been hospitalized. We scrupulously apply the workforce preservation measures put in place. We try not to cross professional bubbles with family bubbles.
How has GIGN been reorganized? What actions have been taken?
Since the start of the crisis, GIGN has activated its business continuity plan. We work on the edge [half of the team] in order to preserve a healthy human capacity. For example, the duty teams, who are ready to leave, no longer meet, the four alert sections each live a little in their bubble.
The confinement of our staff in accommodation conceded by absolute necessity of service also allows us to have an operational availability never reached in normal times. Even the very few licensees are present at their home and we have no teams from right to left in France.
Can members continue to train normally?
The epidemic forces personnel to respect barrier measures to protect themselves and remain operational to respond to the crisis. We are therefore not planning any major collective training at this time. There is more emphasis on individual training, shooting exercises, for example. At the stand, there are never more than five shooters, so as to keep several meters between them.
Are there still GI personnel on mission abroad?
Abroad, our teams maintain and continue to watch over the ambassadors.
Has GIGN activity decreased since the start of containment?
Serious crime is also hampered by containment measures. The judicial activity of the gendarmerie units is therefore less intense. On the other hand, confinement has an impact on people, and the gendarmerie regularly intervenes in domestic violence, although the phenomenon remains contained. When the situation requires it, we are called in for reinforcement.
Earlier in the week, a man who had been hospitalized on his own returned home and assaulted his partner, who called the gendarmes. When they arrived, this individual threatened them and took refuge with her, under the threat of a stabbing weapon. We were then mobilized. One of our teams was going to leave in an emergency with the GIGN helicopters. We were about to take off when we learned that the hostage had managed to escape and that the author had surrendered a quarter of an hour later.
We take advantage of this period to update certain files, to work on research and development. We had NRBC outfits that were going to reach their expiration date. As we donated our FFP2 masks to local hospitals, we had the idea of using these combinations to make around fifty which were then tested by our NRBC cell. We also collaborate with our suppliers to develop our specific equipment: drones, robot, sound and visual recording equipment, etc.
Are you mobilized to enforce containment rules?
No, not as is. But as always, we are ready to intervene in a degraded situation for which the conventional means of the gendarmerie would no longer suffice.
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- Terrorism
- Society
- Coronavirus
- Covid 19
- Gendarmerie
- GIGN