Municipal Police (France)

Approximately 24,000 municipal police officers provide about 13% of the total French law enforcement community.

[6] The municipal police may also incorporate the duties of the forest rangers and game wardens (gardes champêtres) in rural areas.

The French municipal police are under the direct authority of the mayor, who is charged with significant powers of police administration, according to the regulations in Article L. 2212-2 du Code général des collectivités territoriales (CGCT) (2212-2 of the General Code of Territorial (CGCT)) with a responsibility to ensure good order, safety, security, and public health, and also to provide an administrative function, known as the "police power of the mayor.

"[8] Although the word "police" refers to the maintenance of order, the function mainly comprises the protection of citizens from disasters, and the task of regulating traffic and parking.

Without prejudice to the powers accorded them by special laws, they issue traffic fines and penalties for offences listed in Book VI of the penal code established by the Council of State and under the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 of section 21 of the Criminal Procedure Code and penal laws.

With the exception of the static guarding of buildings and surveillance of ceremonies, festivals and other events, without this agreement, the tasks of local police can only be exercised between 6 am and 23 pm.

Overall supervision and regulation of the municipal police is under the jurisdiction the Ministry of the Interior, which is empowered to carry out inspections by agencies such as the IGPN.

As such, it empowers them to assist national police officers in the exercise of their duties, to report to their superiors any crimes, or offenses of which they have knowledge, and in accordance with the instructions of their superior officers, to discover and collect all information required for crime prevention and detection.