National Guard (France)
| National Guard | |
|---|---|
| Garde nationale | |
Logo of the National Guard (since 2016) | |
| Active | 1789–1827 1831–1872 2016–present |
| Country | France |
| Type | Reserve Gendarmerie |
| Size | >77,000 |
| Part of | French Armed Forces National Police |
| Motto(s) | Honneur et Patrie ('Honor and Fatherland') |
| Engagements |
|
| Website | garde-nationale |
| Commanders | |
| Minister of the Armed Forces | Sébastien Lecornu |
| Secretary General for the National Guard | Divisional General François-Xavier Poisbeau |
| Deputy Secretary General for the National Guard | Brigadier General Karine Lejeune |
| Notable commanders | Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette |
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| French Armed Forces |
|---|
| Components |
| Ranks |
| History |
The National Guard (French: Garde nationale) is a French military, gendarmerie, and police reserve force, active in its current form since 2016 but originally founded in 1789 during the French Revolution.
It was founded as separate from the French Army and existed both for policing and as a military reserve. However, in its original stages from 1792 to 1795, the National Guard was perceived as revolutionary and the lower ranks were identified with sans-culottes. It experienced a period of official dissolution from 1827 to 1830 but was reestablished. Soon after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the National Guard in Paris again became viewed as dangerously revolutionary, which contributed to its dissolution in 1871.
In 2016, France announced the reestablishment of the National Guard for the second time, in response to a series of terrorist attacks in the country.