The French Police, or Gendarmerie

If you have a problem, emergency, or want to report a crime and need to contact the police, or if indeed they have contacted you and you need to find out what it was all about, make or attend an appointment,  I can help.

If you want to report a crime or have any sort of complaint, you can discuss this with the gendarmerie and they may agree to make a note of it, but they are unlikely to formally act on it unless you ‘poser plainte’ , ie make a formal complaint. If you do this they will normally need your name, address etc and that of the person you are making the complaint about, if you know it.

If you are reporting a break-in, make sure you don’t touch anything more than necessary so that fingerprints can be taken. The gendarmes usually arrive quite quickly in my experience, but are then, unsurprisingly, not happy if they do this and then discover that you have destroyed what could have been valuable evidence!

Be aware that if you are interviewed by the police, there is no system similar to ‘being cautioned’ unless you are actually arrested, but what you say will be noted, a formal report of the interview will be prepared, checked by you, and you will be asked to sign it. In my experience the gendarmes are very careful in making this report and it is likely to be an accurate representation of what you have said. Having said that, if there is a possibility that you won’t understand the questions asked or the report produced, I suggest that you don’t agreed to be interviewed unless you have an interpreter present. Unless you have actually been arrested, you can ask to make an appointment at another time. The interpreter doesn’t have to be formally approved or qualified, just someone that you trust and can speak good French. You also need to be aware that the interpreter too will be asked for their details and will have to sign your statement, so make sure in advance that they are willing to do this, and also willing to question any parts of the statement which they believe to be incorrect, if necessary. Be aware that this report can be sent to the Procureur de la République, who decides whether to proceed with a case or not.

In the case being accused of a serious crime and being arrested (garde a vue) , I strongly recommend that you ask to see an avocat, who will advise you on how to proceed. English speaking avocats do exist, but if you or the gendarmes don't know of one you will need an interpreter. You will be advised in writing (and will have to sign a form to this effect) that you have the right to contact a member of your family, a 30 minute consultation with an avocat and the services of an interpreter for the length of time you are under arrest. The gendarmerie can, and have in the past, used my services in this respect.

*update April 2011, proposed law to make ‘garde a vue’ possible only when suspected of certain crimes and proposal that the presence of an avocat will be mandatory. Likely to cause confusion and havoc - mark my words :-)

Be aware also that if the gendarmes believe you have committed a crime after having interviewed you, they will often call a court officer to decide how to proceed. They may then decide either to prosecute you or, if it is a first-time or minor offence, you might be asked to agree to see a court officer who will discuss the situation with you and may ultimately give you something similar to a ‘caution’ in the UK. In either case your photograph and fingerprints will be taken and your details entered onto their computer systems. Be aware that if you are asked to see the court officer and don’t turn up, you will then be asked to attend a court hearing and any standard fine for the offence you have committed will automatically be doubled! You will be asked to sign another document to say that you have been informed of this fact.

If any items are taken as evidence, you will also be asked to sign a form agreeing to the description of the items and to sign labels which will then be sealed into plastic bags for future use as evidence.

In the case of crimes committed by children, there are rules which apply depending on the age of the child. A court may decide not to hear the case of a child unless there has been an attempt to mediate between the parties first. The judge may look at the case initially and then appoint an association to attempt this mediation.

If you do have to go to court you will need, or the court will assign you, an avocat. ‘Aide juridictionelle’, along the lines of legal aid, may be available depending on your circumstances.

Please note I have no legal qualifications or experience, but will happily act simply as an interpreter for you. I am currently in the process of applying to be put on the list of expert interpreters, and the gendarmerie can, and will, requisition me to help if circumstances allow.