DÉFENSE ZONE
Défense Zone is a magazine designed to inform you and help you better understand defence and security issues in France and around the world.
Défense Zone also means paying particular attention to images. For all our publications, we take care to find the best photos and so highlight the work of photographers. The “Zone image” section is there for exactly that.
National tribute
On 5 September 2023, France paid tribute to Staff Sergeant (sergent-chef) Nicolas Mazier, an operator with Air Parachute Commando No. 10 (CPA 10), who died in Iraq on 29 August 2023. Funeral honours were first paid in Paris, then at Orléans-Bricy air base. In Paris, the funeral procession crossed the Pont Alexandre III before reaching the Hôtel national des Invalides. The non-commissioned officer was posthumously awarded the Cross for Military Valour and the Military Medal. At Orléans-Bricy, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, gave a speech in which he paid tribute to Staff Sergeant Mazier’s courage and commitment before appointing him a Knight of the Legion of Honour.
A summer on every front
Civil Protection personnel can finally catch their breath. Figures from the Ministry of the Interior show a less alarming situation than last summer, despite a longer fire season. 12,200 fire outbreaks were recorded up to 26 August, compared with 12,528 the previous year, with peaks sometimes exceeding 250 outbreaks in a single day.
The gendarmes of the Tour
As every year, the French Gendarmerie was mobilised to secure the 110th Tour de France. The security set-up had three components. The first ensured security along the route. It included 40 gendarmes from the Republican Guard (GR) motorcycle squadron and members of the GIGN, the Gendarmerie’s elite intervention unit, supported by helicopters of the FAGN (Gendarmerie air forces). For the starts and finishes, Mobile Gendarmerie Squadron 26/7 from Belfort and dog teams, supported by the Republican Guard’s intervention platoon, were also deployed to detect possible explosive threats to people on the move. Finally, a group of 16 gendarmes was selected to join the Tour caravan to deliver road safety messages along the route, liaise with the press and the public, and help raise the profile of the Gendarmerie and recruit future personnel.
Find this section in full in our latest issue, whose feature is devoted to the elite units of the internal security forces. You can also subscribe to our magazine and receive our new issue every quarter, access exclusive content and take advantage of equipment and gear offers from our partners. Head to the Premium section.
