National Police Intervention Force

Force d’intervention de la police nationale  (French)
Active	2009–present
Country	France
Branch	National Police
Type	Special operations
Role	Anti-terrorism
Size	500[1]
Garrison/HQ	Bièvres, Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux, Rennes, Paris, Pointe à Pitre, Nouméa, Saint-Denis de la Réunion
Nickname(s)	FIPN
Commanders
Notable commanders	Amaury de Hauteclocque[1] Jean-Michel Fauvergue[2]

The National Police Intervention Force (FIPN) (French: Force d'Intervention de la Police nationale) is an operational structure that coordinates various intervention groups and special forces of the National Police. It notably heads the RAID and the seven metropolitan GIPNs, which constitute the regional branches of RAID.

History

In 2004, French police officer Christian Lambert put forward a project to create a unified command structure for the various anti-terrorist intervention groups in existence in the French National Police. The project was not immediately implemented, but the 2008 Mumbai attacks, providing an example of the sort of incident the project was designed to thwart, gave an impetus for the founding of the structure.^[1]

From 2008, the RAID and the various GIPNs started a common training program to standardise their methods.^[1] The FIPN was then founded on 1 December 2009 when Minister of the Interior Brice Hortefeux visited the RAID home base at Bièvres.^[1][3] In 2010, the BRIs joined the structure.^[1] The organisation of the FIPN was officially determined by the ministerial decision ("arrêté" of 5 January 2011,^[4] notably giving the GIPNs a nationwide jurisdiction.^[1]

The FIPN is designed to intervene on hostage crisis and in close quarters. Its assault teams comprise physicians, providing for the immediate care of wounded personnel or suspects on the field.^[2]

Sources and references