I’ve lived in France now for 10 years, the only fingerprinting I’ve been required was for my carte de séjour.
However… My husband physically beat me and long story short, because I didn’t speak French very well and had no social services to support me, because I did not make a complaint against his physical abuse, we went to trial, he admitted his abuse against me but it was considered moot.
3 years later, we were both convocatted to give DNA stop the commissariat without further explanation.
I was both fingerprinted and photographed after I had been wrongly accused and the procurer had dismissed their case.
When I asked why the sergeant said he had been ordered to do it to complete the paperwork.
I have never been so upset or humiliated in my life and I now detest the gendarmerie.
That was before they unlawfully shot our neighbour which didn’t make me feel more kindly towards them.
I suppose like in the UK there are good and bad, but when you have been on the receiving end of the bad ones it doesn’t half taint your opinion of the gendarmerie.
Also, there is the case that they were instituted to control the citizenry, not to protect it.