The National Gendarmes Intervention Group, commonly abbreviated GIGN (French: Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale), is the French Gendarmerie's elite counter-terrorism and hostage rescue unit. It is composed of 120 men, including 11 officers.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links French_GIGN_Seal. ... Gendarmes Gendarmes guarding the Paris Hall of Justice Gendarmerie motorcyclists police the roads and autoroutes of rural France. ... For other uses, see Special forces (disambiguation). ... Counter-terrorism refers to the practices, tactics, and strategies that governments, militaries, and other groups adopt in order to fight terrorism. ... For the band, see The Police. ... Satory is a village south of Versailles in France. ... Air France Flight 8969 (AF8969, AFR8969) was an Air France flight that was hijacked on December 24, 1994 at Algiers. ... The National Front for the Liberation of Corsica (Corsican: Fronte di Liberazione Naziunale di a Corsica, or FLNC) is a militant group that advocates an autonomous state on the island of Corsica, independent from France. ... Colonel Bob Denard, known in Arabic as Said Mustapha Mahdjoub (born April 7, 1929 in Bordeaux, France as Gilbert Bourgeaud) is perhaps the most famous and influential mercenary in the last fifty years. ... Christian Prouteau (born on the 7 April 1944) is a French officer of the Gendarmerie Nationale. ... Paul Barril (13 April 1946) is a former officer of the French Gendarmerie Nationale. ... Gendarmes Gendarmes guarding the Paris Hall of Justice Gendarmerie motorcyclists police the roads and autoroutes of rural France. ... For other uses, see Elite (disambiguation). ... Counter-terrorism refers to the practices, tactics, and strategies that governments, militaries, and other groups adopt in order to fight terrorism. ... A hostage crisis is a situation created by militants or terrorists wherein they take over a building full of people and then: (a) hold them till their demands or met, or (b) hold them until someone they respect tells them to stop or they decide to surrender, or (c) are...

Its missions include the arrest of gunmen, in particular those taking hostages, counter-terrorism, including airplane hijacking, or prevention of mutiny in prisons. For other uses, see Hostage (disambiguation). ... Aircraft hijacking (also known as Skyjacking) is the take-over of an aircraft, by a person or group, usually armed. ... Mutiny is the act of conspiring to disobey an order that a group of similarly-situated individuals (typically members of the military; or the crew of any ship, even if they are civilians) are legally obliged to obey. ...

It is headquartered in Satory, west of Paris.^[1] Along with the EPIGN and the GSPR it forms the GSIGN (Groupement de Sécurité et d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale, Grouping of Security and Intervention of the National Gendarmerie). Satory is a village south of Versailles in France. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... The EPIGN (Escadron Parachutiste dIntervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) is the parachute-trained intervention squadron of the French Gendarmerie. ...

History

After the Munich massacre during the Olympic Games in 1972, and a prison mutiny in Clairvaux the next year, France started to study the possible solutions to extremely violent attacks, under the assumptions that these would be extremely difficult to predict and deflect.^[2] The Munich massacre occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September, a group with ties to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah organization. ... The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

In 1973, the GIGN was created as a permanent force of men trained and equipped to respond to these kind of threats while minimising risks for the public and hostages, for the members of the unit, and for the attackers themselves. The GIGN became operational on the first of March, 1974, under command of Lieutenant Christian Prouteau. For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Christian Prouteau (born on the 7 April 1944) is a French officer of the Gendarmerie Nationale. ...

Ten days later, a deranged person was successfully stopped in Ecquevilly, validating the techniques of the unit and proving its necessity. Originally, GIGN was relat

Structure

A GIGN member armed with a MP5.

The GIGN is divided into a command cell, an administrative group, four operational troops of twenty operators, an operational support troop including negotiation, breaching, intelligence, communications, marksmanship, dogs and special equipment cells. ^[3] The special equipment group equips the unit with modified and high-tech equipment, by either selecting or designing it. GIGN is used about 60 times each year. ^[4] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 394 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (460 × 700 pixel, file size: 45 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A GIGN member armed with a MP5 Source: Official site of Groupe dIntervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale; [1] Permission is granted to copy, distribute and... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 394 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (460 × 700 pixel, file size: 45 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A GIGN member armed with a MP5 Source: Official site of Groupe dIntervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale; [1] Permission is granted to copy, distribute and...

All members go through training which includes shooting, long-range marksmanship, an airborne course and hand-to-hand combat techniques (Krav Maga). Members of the GIGN are widely regarded as having some of the best firearms training in the world.^[5] It is for this reason that many of the world's special operations and counterterrorist units conduct exchange programs with the GIGN.^[6] Most of the GIGN volunteers are family men rather than the supermen which the media often makes them out to be. Members never say GIGN but instead say "the group." Mental ability and self-control are important in addition to physical strength. Like most special forces, the training is stressful with a high washout rate of only 7-8% of volunteers making it to the training process. GIGN members must be prepared to disarm suspects with their bare hands.^[7] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Shooting is the act of causing a gun to fire at a target. ... Krav Maga (Hebrew קרב מגע: contact combat) is a martial art, at first developed in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s. ...

There are two tactical specialties in the group : HALO/HAHO and divers. Members learn several technical specialties among police dogs, breaching, long-range sniping, negotiation, etc.^[8] Police dog getting ready to search a vehicle for drugs A policemans dog is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and similar law-enforcement personnel with their work. ...

Operations

Boarding of the Pascal Paoli by the GIGN, on 28 September 2005

Since its creation, the group has taken part in over 1000 operations, liberated over 500 hostages, arrested over 1000 suspects, and killed a dozen terrorists. The unit has seen two members killed in action, and seven in training, since its foundation, and two of its dogs in action and one in training.^[9] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 385 pixelsFull resolution (3328 × 1600 pixel, file size: 341 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Other versions Originally from fr. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 385 pixelsFull resolution (3328 × 1600 pixel, file size: 341 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Other versions Originally from fr. ...

Past actions include:

• The liberation of 30 children from a bus captured by the FLCS (front de libération de la côte somalienne, "Somali Coast Liberation Front") in Djibouti in 1976.
• Planning the liberation of diplomats from the French embassy in San Salvador in 1979 (the hostage-takers surrendered before the assault was conducted).
• GIGN commandos were instrumental in regaining control during the Grand Mosque Seizure, in November and December 1979.
• Arrest of a Corsican commando in Fesch Hostel in 1980.
• Liberation of hostages of the Ouvéa cave hostage taking in May 1988.
• Protection of the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville.
• In December 1994, the liberation of the 164 passengers of Air France Flight 8969 in Marignane. The plane, hijacked by four GIA terrorists that wished to destroy the Eiffel Tower, had been completely mined, and three passengers had been executed during the negotiations with the Algerian government. The mission was widely publicized.
• Arrest of Bob Denard in 1995 in Comoros.
• Operations in Bosnia to arrest persons indicted for war crimes.

The GIGN was selected by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to teach the special forces of the other member states. Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... From April 22, 1988 to May 5, 1988, independence fighters took 27 French gendarmes as hostages in the island of Ouvéa, New Caledonia, requesting instant independence of New Caledonia from France. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were celebrated in 1992 in Albertville, France. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... Air France Flight 8969 (AF8969, AFR8969) was an Air France flight that was hijacked on December 24, 1994 at Algiers. ... Marignane is a commune of the Bouches-du-Rhône département, in southern France, located near Marseille. ... The Armed Islamic Group (GIA, from French Groupe Islamique Armé; Arabic al-Jamaah al-Islamiyah al-Musallaha) is a Khawarij terrorist organization that wants to overthrow the Algerian government and replace it with an Islamic state. ... Colonel Bob Denard, known in Arabic as Said Mustapha Mahdjoub (born April 7, 1929 in Bordeaux, France as Gilbert Bourgeaud) is perhaps the most famous and influential mercenary in the last fifty years. ... This article is about the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations, develops the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. ...

GIGN leaders

• lieutenant (Lieutenant) Christian Prouteau : 1973-1982
• capitaine (Captain) Paul Barril : 1982-1983 (Interim)
• capitaine Philippe Masselin : 1983-1985
• capitaine Philippe Legorjus : 1985-1989
• chef d'escadron (squadron leader) Lionel Chesneau : 1989-1992
• capitaine Denis Favier : 1992-1997
• chef d'escadron Eric Gerard : 1997–2002
• chef d'escadron Frédéric Gallois : since 2002

Christian Prouteau (born on the 7 April 1944) is a French officer of the Gendarmerie Nationale. ... Paul Barril (13 April 1946) is a former officer of the French Gendarmerie Nationale. ...

In fiction

• GIGN is one of the playable counter-terrorist skins in the games Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, and CounterStrike: Source.
• GIGN is present in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown. In the Rainbow Six games, an ex-GIGN operative was transferred to Rainbow.
• GIGN is also present in Joint Operations Typhoon Rising. In the Joint Operation games both the jungle camo and the the blue camo are available.
• In the expansion to the video game SWAT 4, characters are able to wear a GIGN uniform.
• A former GIGN member appears as the leader of a private security unit in the 2005 film The Island.
• A member of GIGN is assassinated by a radical right-wing political faction in the anime Noir.
• In the game Soldier Front, players are able to choose one of the world's counter-terrorism groups as their main character during game-play. One of the counter-terrorism characters is a GIGN officer.

Counter-Strike (CS) is a popular team-based mod of Valves first-person shooter (FPS) Half-Life. ... Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (abbreviated CS:CZ) is the single-player version of the multiplayer game, Counter-Strike. ... SWAT 4 is a tactical first-person shooter computer game developed by Irrational Games and released by Vivendi Universal on April 5, 2005. ... The Island is a 2005 science fiction film directed by Michael Bay and starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. ... Noir ), a 26-episode anime series from 2001, is a story of two young female assassins who embark together on a personal journey to seek answers about mysteries from their past. ... Soldier Front, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a tactical first person shooter found on the ijji website. ...

See also

• EPIGN
• JTF2
• RAID
• Navy SEALs
• SWAT
• GSG 9, a similar German program formed at the same time.
• BOPE
• SAS
• National Security Guards
• Alpha Group
• Singapore Special Operations Force

The EPIGN (Escadron Parachutiste dIntervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) is the parachutist intervention squadron of the French Gendarmerie. ... Joint Task Force 2 Special Forces duties in Canada are performed by an elite counter-terrorism unit known as JTF2 (Joint Task Force 2. ... Recherche Assistance Intervention Dissuasion (Research, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence) is the counter-terrorist unit of the French National Police. ... SEALs in from the water. ... This article is about Special Weapons and Tactics. ... Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (GSG 9 - Border protection group 9) is a German counter-terrorism unit, and is considered to be among the best of such units in the world. ... BOPE (Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais, or Special Police Operations Battalion), is the elite group of the Military Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ... See also Australian Special Air Service Regiment and New Zealand Special Air Service: The Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) is the principal special forces unit of the British Army. ... National Security Guards (NSG), is a counter terrorism unit of India, raised by the Cabinet Secretariat under the National Security Guard Act of 1985. ... A member of the FSB Alpha Group, equipped with the silenced AS VAL assault rifle. ... SOF exhibition booth displaying their equipment during the National Day Parade celebrations of 2005 at Marina South The Special Operations Force (SOF) is part of the Singapore Armys Commandos arm. ...

References

Footnotes

External links

• Official webpage (French)
• Unofficial webpage, officially endorsed (French)