Franco-German Operational Police Unit
Franco-German operational unit goes into action
The new unit, launched 2019, provides support in policing major events along the border between France and Germany.
On the margins of the Franco-German Council of Ministers in Toulouse today, Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer and his French counterpart, Christophe Castaner, signed an administrative agreement creating a Franco-German operational unit to go into immediate action. Made up of officers from Germany’s Federal Police and the French Gendarmerie nationale, the new unit will provide support in policing major events and in case of disasters and serious accidents primarily along the border between France and Germany. Joint operations within the framework of international police missions, such as those in francophone Africa, are also planned.
The Franco-German unit bears the name of the French gendarme Daniel Nivel, who was attacked and seriously injured while on duty during the 1998 Football World Cup in France.
Federal Minister Seehofer commented, “My highest priority as Federal Minister of the Interior is ensuring the safety and security of our people. Our Franco-German operational unit gives a face to cross-border police cooperation and security in both our countries. Whether policing major events in the border region or serving together on civil crisis management missions abroad, our Franco-German unit will provide a reservoir of expertise and competence that our people can depend on.”
The administrative agreement is the result of a decision by the Franco-German Council of Ministers in 2017 to create a training course for French and German police officers so they can be assigned to joint duty in a European framework. The first group – 10 from the Federal Police and 10 from the Gendarmerie nationale – completed training together to prepare for their joint assignments. This group serves as a reserve pool from which officers will be deployed to help police major events in Germany and France, respond in case of disaster or serve on international missions in French-speaking, non-EU countries under an EU, UN or OSCE mandate.