I have huge respect for the emergency services not just in France but in all countries…
I don’t necessarily extend the same respect for the “police” and don’t feel compelled to believe that they are somehow protecting me whilst battering their own people…
And who exactly should I vote for…???
Why the inverted commas around police
Is that a joke??
Let’s hope you never need to call for Police help - now that would be a dilemma…
Just because of the conversation around the difference between police and gendarmaries etc…???
So are you meaning some or all of law enforcement?
No…why would you think that…???
Simon I respect that you have been here a lot longer than me…as have many others…but for now I would not feel comfortable casting a vote for any of the main parties…
Just to clarify a point - How do you propose to vote in a General or Presidential Election if you are a Brit.
So do you mean some or all of law enforcement?
Growing up do you ever remember seeing a militarised and weaponised police force…??? I don’t…one of my relatives was a police sergeant…kind…fair…and as kids we were always told to ask a policeman if we were ever approached by strangers…
We are all a sum of our experiences…my experiences of the police via my relative when I was young were always good until one day in adulthood they weren’t and I realised that police force meant just that…
Let me guess Helen - you were a teenager in the 1960’s?
born in 64…x 
I had exactly the same assumptions vis-à-vis the police and gendarmes (ie they were public servants and ok bods who caught baddies and would tell me how to get from a to b, help me cross the road etc) and I was born half-way through the sixties.
Ah - OK… a decade out, sorry.
It is just that I have a cousin who was a teen in the 60’s and she has exactly the same outlook as yourself : she wouldnt even allow her two boys to play cowboys & indians because of the wooden toy guns! She would take part in any protest going - didnt matter what it was about, so long as it was against the ‘establishment’ that suited her fine.
I was born in 63 so my ‘growing up’ was in 70’s Britain. Yes, police officers were more polite and us kids certainly respected them and would fear being caught by one if we were up to no good…more so for me because my father was a copper! However, as a youngster, I travelled with my parents all over Europe and noticed that the Police always carried a side-arm. It didnt worry or bother me - different country, different ways.
No worries…you’re a year older than me so we were both teenagers in the 70s…one of my older cousins quit university…got a job in a crisp factory and couldn’t bear throwing out inferior crisps when people were starving…travelled to Palestine and Israel… came back and to date has spent the rest of his life in a commune working to feed the local community…it took many years before his parents forgave him for dropping out of uni…
Perhaps another question is ‘who exactly are you going to call should you be the victim of a violent act or other crime?’
There are several differences between the Gendarmes and the Police (if my research is correct): The Police are in charge of the ‘policing’ in cities, the Gendarmerie (part of the Military) covers the countryside. I suspect the Gendarmes use the internationally recognised word ‘Police’ on their uniformes in riot situations so we all know their role. Keeping peaceful people secure from violent people.
Perhaps we should all carry guns for protection, like in the loony USA, and not rely on those trained to protect us?
The good old days of the unarmed friendly Bobby are gone. I’m happy to see Gendarmes / Police toting whatever they deem necessary to protect us in major centres. I’m just a happy to see neither in my little piece of French rural heaven because the crime rate is essentially zero.
Unlike the UK of course…
Fair enough… are you one of the many who still vote in UK ?
I can understand it being difficult for anyone who is not sufficiently involved with the locals/neighbours to get an understanding of how things affect their lives … and their hopes and dreams for the future…within Europe.
and/or perhaps someone with a lack of knowledge/understanding about the French political scene …
Hopefully, you will soon feel sufficiently confident to make an informed Vote… if you get the chance.
Next year will be the Local Elections… which affect us all, close to home. So perhaps you might consider getting yourself on the Electoral Roll for that particular event… for the benefit of your neighbours… and you as well.
Ah but is it the police that have changed or society ,meaning the police have had to alter their way of dealing with people as respect no longer counts for much.? I am always intrigued ( And this is not just aimed at Helen) by people who are anti the’police’ as to just who they would call on to assist them if they or their family were in danger. being burgled etc
It has been a police service for many years now not a force
Well I wouldn’t call the CRS!
No I haven’t voted in uk for many years…not since the wmd fakery…
I live in a tiny hamlet and my neighbours are elderly…our commune has around 1600 inhabitants including lots of little hamlets like mine…
The mayor seems a nice chap…well liked and we receive a quarterly magazine with lots of information…the first page letter from the mayor is always translated into English too…we are merging with another commune this year…he speaks of the prevailing sense of gloominess…the drop in the level of funding which he says is felt in many communes…despite that he says they are ready to step up to the challenges…
There is a lot of support here for the GJs…and locally there hasn’t been any damage…
I’ve just received a letter about the recensement…x
Yep that flyer hasn’t been thought out at all well…x 