The Evolution of Municipal Police forces in France: An Imitation of State Police Doomed to Failure?

Local, municipal police forces are making a noteworthy return to the police scene, both in relation to municipal organization and in the public debate in France since the 1980’s. The total workforce of the different types of local security agents now exceeds 30,000 people, from almost 3,500 cities. This rise used to stem from a strong demand for community policing from local electorates since the 1970’s, but its rationale comes now from a different dynamic. The old “complementary model” (local police versus state police) has changed more and more towards a new “replacement model”. This latter was first promoted by some mayors who had strongly dramatised the security threat in their cities. Since the turn towards securitarian policies in the 2000’s, amplified since the terrorist attacks in France in 2015 and 2016, the “replacement model” is now also partly encouraged by the state. To illustrate this evolution, the case of Marseille is examined, a city which has engaged since 2012 in significant reform of its local police towards the replacement model. The work of the municipal police force is examined, which indicates the limits of this strategy for the municipalities.