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GIGN

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Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale
Official GIGN insignia
Active1973–present
Country France
BranchFile:Grenade bois de cerf.gif National Gendarmerie
TypeSpecial Operations
RoleCounter-terrorism and Hostage Rescue
Size420 gendarmes est.
Garrison/HQSatory, France
Nickname(s)GIGN
Motto(s)Servitas Vitae ("To Save Lives", unofficial)
EngagementsAir France Flight 8969 hijacking
Various anti-FLNC operations
Arrest of Bob Denard
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Christian Prouteau, Paul Barril, Philippe Legorjus, Denis Favier

The National Gendarmerie Intervention Group, commonly abbreviated GIGN (French: Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale), is a special operations unit of the French Armed Forces. It is part of the National Gendarmerie and is trained to perform counter-terrorist and hostage rescue missions in France or anywhere else in the world.

The GIGN was formed in 1973. On 1 September 2007, a major reorganization took place. The original GIGN absorbed the Gendarmerie Parachute Squadron (EPIGN) and the thirty gendarmes of the GSPR to form a "new" expanded GIGN.

There are now 3 distinct parts to the unit:

  • Intervention force (the original GIGN)
  • Observation & search force (from the former EPIGN)
  • Security & protection force (from the former EPIGN and gendarmes from the GSPR)

History

After the Munich massacre during the Olympic Games in 1972, and a prison mutiny in Clairvaux Prison the next year, France started to study the possible solutions to extremely violent attacks, under the assumptions that these would be difficult to predict and deflect.[1]

In 1973, the GIGN became a permanent force of men trained and equipped to respond to these kind of threats while minimizing risks to the public and hostages, for the members of the unit, and for the attackers themselves. The GIGN became operational on the first of March, 1974, under the command of Lieutenant Christian Prouteau.

Ten days later, it had its first intervention against a deranged person in Ecquevilly, proving the necessity of the unit. GIGN initially had 15 members, which increased to 48 by 1984, 57 by 1988, and 87 by 2000.[1]

In 2007, a major reorganization was set, with GIGN and EPIGN and GSIGN staff fused together into a single 380-member unit called GIGN. In the future, the newly recruited gendarmerie officers will be trained for intervention, then will have the opportunity to be trained in protection and/or research/observation (old missions of the EPIGN). The total was expected to increase to about 420 soldiers in 2010. The goal of the reorganization was to make possible to get to 200 men, trained and accustomed to working together, in large-scale interventions, mostly Beslan-type mass hostage-taking. The acronym GSIGN has become moot and the acronym "GIGN" refers no longer the same small unit. The collaboration of GIGN and RAID is more and more practiced in large hostage-rescue exercises.

Structure

The GIGN is divided into a command cell, an administrative group, four operational troops of twenty operators, an operational support troop including negotiation, breaching, intelligence, communications, marksmanship, dogs and special equipment cells.[2] The special equipment group equips the unit with modified and high-tech equipment, by either selecting or designing it. GIGN is called about 60 times each year.[3]

All members go through training which includes shooting, long-range marksmanship, an airborne course and hand-to-hand combat training. Members of the GIGN are widely regarded as having some of the best firearms training in the world.[1] It is for this reason that many of the world's special operations and counterterrorist units conduct exchange programs with the GIGN.[1] Mental ability and self-control are important in addition to physical strength. Like most special forces, the training is stressful with a high washout rate - only 7–8% of volunteers make it to the training process. GIGN members must be prepared to disarm suspects with their bare hands.[3]

There are two tactical specialties in the group : HALO/HAHO and divers. Members learn several technical specialties among police dogs, breaching, long-range sniping, negotiation, etc.[1]

Operations

Boarding of the Pascal Paoli by the GIGN, on 28 September 2005. The ship had been occupied by the Corsican trade union STC.

Since its creation, the group has taken part in over 1000 operations, liberated over 500 hostages, arrested over 1000 suspects, and killed 12 terrorists. The unit has seen two members killed in action, and seven in training, since its foundation, and two of its dogs in action and one in training.[4]

Past actions include:

The GIGN was selected by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to teach the special forces of the other member states in hostage-rescue exercises in planes.

Training

  • Weapons Handling
  • Combat shooting and marksmanship training
  • Airborne courses, such as HALO or HAHO jumps, paragliding, and heliborne insertions.
  • Combat/Underwater swimming, diving and assault of ships.
  • Hand to Hand combat training
  • Undercover surveillance and stalking (support in investigating cases)
  • Infiltration and escape techniques
  • Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and NRBC devices neutralization
  • Survival and warfare in tropical, arctic, mountain and desert environments.
  • Diplomacy skills, such as negotiating.

Equipment

Assault car of the GIGN

GIGN leaders

  • Lieutenant Christian Prouteau : 1973-1982
  • Capitaine Paul Barril : 1982-1983 (Interim)
  • Capitaine Philippe Masselin : 1983-1985
  • Capitaine Philippe Legorjus : 1985-1989
  • Major (Commandant or Chef d'Escadron in Cavalry) Lionel Chesneau : 1989-1992
  • Capitaine Denis Favier : 1992-1997
  • Major (Commandant or Chef d'Escadron in Cavalry) Eric Gerard : 1997–2002
  • Lieutenant-Colonel Frédéric Gallois : 2002-2007
  • Brigade General Denis Favier : 2007-2011
  • Brigade General Thierry Orosco: 2011-present

In fiction

GIGN members are present in several video games such as SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown, Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Hitman: Contracts, Battlefield 3, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. GIGN uniforms are available in the games Counter-Strike and SWAT 4. The group is also mentioned in the Phoenix Force 1984 book Phoenix in Flames. They are featured in L'Assaut, a French film about the Air France Flight 8969 hijacking. It was done with the collaboration and the advice of the GIGN.

See also

Comparable special forces

List of special police units

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e SOC - France - GIGN SpecialOperations.com Retrieved 14 April 2007.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ a b Group Intervention of the National Gendarmerie Template:Fr icon Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  4. ^ [2]
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