The Gendarmes are part of everyday normal policing, I think the CRS would be a better comparison to calling out the National Guard.
But regardless, think of Macron deploying forces in Nice contrary to the Mayor’s and the Region’s leaders wishes and advice. Or Starmer sending in the army to quell a bit of bother in Wales despite the local leaders and police saying everything is under control.
Trump’s actions are outrageous, and very dangerous.
The last time a POTUS called out the National Guard without the consent or request by a governor was LBJ in 1965.
I suspect you are letting your natural and laudable dislike of a completely amoral nasty piece of work dilute your assessment of how smart he is. Smart comes in many flavours, not all of them admirable. For example, the people behind are Project 2025 are smart, fiendishly smart.
Trump tried to overturn the legitimate result of a presidential election, he incited a riot and the invasion of the United States Capitol, he’s a convicted felon, he’s been found guilty of rape, and goodness knows what other dreadful acts he’s committed in his long and often bankrupt career. But he was still elected again. That took smarts, nasty ones, but smarts nevertheless.
I remember as a kid being outwitted in some minor mayter by someone I wouldn’t have considered particularly bright, it was then I realised that cute (as in sly, cunning) beats smart 
Exactly. LBJ sent them in to protect protesters. Trump has sent them in to wind the protesters up, and then bash them. It’s the same old cause dissent, divide and conquer right wing model, though fought out on the streets now, instead of on Facebook.
Indeed - the National Guard was used by the President because the local “law enforcement” was not upholding the law.
The current position is the reverse - federal forces are potentially to be used to quell legitimate protest and support ICE in their illegal arrests.