Groupe
de Sécurité et d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale
(GIGN)
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Groupement d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie
Nationale (GIGN)
The National Gendarmes Intervention
Group, or Groupement d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie
Nationale, is France’s principle counterterrorist
tool based near Paris in Satory. It was created in
1974 following not only the Munich Olympic incident,
but more directly as a result of Saudi Arabian embassy
in Paris in 1973. Upon its inception, the small 15-man
GIGN was divided into two primary commands each with
as a distinct geographical responsibility, one in
Maisons-Alfort (Northern France) and the other in
Mont-de-Marsan (Southern France). This situation changed
in 1976 as both units joined, then again in 1979 when
the membership increased to two officers and 40 NCOs.
By 1984, GIGN fielded four 12-man strike units, including
one on call 24-hours a day.
Unlike the majority of units listed
in this section, GIGN, while taking its orders from
the Ministry of Defense, is a part of the police force,
rather than the military. As such, they are endowed
with the power of arrest and are often called upon
to conduct operations against non-terrorist criminals.
This situation poses an interesting challenge for
the Gendarmes. On one hand, their rules of engagement
are altered with regularity. One set of parameters
guides their operations against civilian criminals,
while another comes into play when France is confronted
by violent terrorists. On the other hand, the unit
has engaged in hundreds of operations since its inception
in 1973 and has accumulated a great deal of practical
experience. Because of this, they are frequent hosts
to members of other groups such as the United States’
Delta Force and Germany’s GSG-9. In one well-publicized
case, GIGN members advised the Saudi National Guard
prior to their assault on the terrorist-held Grand
Mosque in Mecca. GIGN commandos are cross-trained
in a variety of specialties, including scuba diving,
sniping, parachuting, and explosives. GIGN is also
known to make use of dogs in certain operations, although
details on this aspect of their organization are sketchy.
Prior to 1994, GIGN had made its name in Djibouti
when, in 1976, its commandos rescued 29 schoolchildren
from Somalian terrorists. This accomplishment was
overshadowed in terms of publicity when former members
of the terrorist group Armed Islamic Group (AIG) hijacked
an Air France airliner.
In 1995, France sent some 10 members
of GIGN to a forward-deployment base in the Indian
Ocean for possible intervention in a coup by white
mercenaries in October. This small unit was augmented
by the group also included specialists from the army's
special operations command and 11 BPC of the DGSE
overseas espionage service.
GIGN's primary tasking has been in
police operations, such as those involving barricaded
suspects, hostage rescue, jail/riot suppression, and
high-risk arrests. Since it's inception, GIGN has
actively participated in almost 700 operations, which
have resulted in more than five hundred rescued hostages.
Criminal arrests statistics are reportedly twice that
number. GIGN is known to have lost 5 operators, along
with dozens injured.
GIGN is currently staffed with 87
full-time operators up from 57 in 1988. These men
are led by a five officers, including a commanding
officer (commandant), deputy, and three executive
officers. The CO is responsible for the activities
of the unit, however there is reportedly a great deal
of autonomy given to the officers and NCOs under him.
The unit consists of a command cell, divided into
five primary groups; four operations units and a logistical
element. In keeping with GIGN's exacting demands,
the members of the logistical element are all former
operatives, rather than clerical. Each numbered operations
unit consists of 15 men and an officer. Two of these
groups (One and Two) have specialized in waterborne
operations, while the remaining two (Three and Four)
focus on HALO/HAHO insertion. In the case of the latter,
reports indicate that small numbers may be deployed
to act as long-range advance reconnaissance for an
impending GIGN presence, then join the main element
during the operation. Two of these groups are on 24-hour
alert status at all times. It is reported that GIGN
can depart its base ready for action within 30 minutes
of a call. GIGN also may be deployed with Regiment
de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine ("1 RPiMa")
commandos for long range anti-terrorist missions.
Another GIGN element of note is the four-man negotiation
unit, whose members are selected from operators with
six or more years of service with GIGN. Finally, GIGN
maintains its own intelligence component Section de
Reneignement [SR]) which investigates potential situations
which might require GIGN intervention.
Training for GIGN focuses, perhaps
more so than any other CT unit, on the prevention
of violence. This attitude, to employ all other options
before resorting to force, has led to literally hundreds
of successful operations. Firearms use is a high priority
as well, and approximately 60 of the 87 operators
have qualified as sharpshooters. Interestingly, GIGN
shooters are trained in placing shots to neutralize
suspects, rather than killing if possible. This is
a practice disdained by most CT organizations.
It reportedly takes three years before
a gendarme is considered a full-fledged operator.
Any prospective member must have previously served
three years in the regular Gendarme, with most coming
from the riot control teams. Upon his approval for
selection, he is then sent to for a difficult
selection phase. This involves a commando-style obstacle
course, an escape and evasion drill, and other such
tests. Finally, a shooting test is administered to
determine the marksmanship abilites. Apparently, this
final test is a significant portion of the overall
grading of the applicant.
For the 10 percent or so who make
it through this phase (approximately 8 new members
per year), they are then sent on to two months of
further training in whcih they are schooled in basic
marksmanship (GIGN style), and continued physcial
training. In the third month, the recruit is issued
his personal weapons and given instruction in long-range
shooting. At the end of the six month, the individual
is sent on to operate with an actual GIGN unit in
the field. Here the most advanced techniques of suspect
apprehension, riot suppression, VIP protection, and
similar duties. Only at the end of this "probationary"
period is the successful operative bestowed his GIGN
badge.
During his career, a GIGN operative
is expected to maintain his own physical fitness as
organized activites are impractical. This is not to
say that they are on their own for advanced taining,
however. In fact, all operatives are encouraged to
learn HALO and HAHO skills (at the French Army's Pau
airborne school or with the 11th Abn. at Bareges),
high-speed vehicle operation (first at the basic school
in Antibes then later at the advanced school run by
the French Navy in St. Mandrier and even at Le Mans),
skiing (Chamonix), and mountain climbing (Cassis).
Additionally, they spend at least two hours each day
in firearms training, with the average trooper firing
100 to 300 rounds each day.
It is important to note that GIGN is widely regarded
as having some of the best firearms training in the
world. It is for this reason that many of the world's
special operations and counterterrorist units conduct
exchange programs with the GIGN.
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