The Paris Police Prefecture ( ), officially the Police Prefecture (), is the unit of the French Ministry of the Interior that provides police, emergency services, and various administrative services to the population of the city of Paris and the surrounding three suburban of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Val-de-Marne. It is headed by the Paris Prefect of Police (), officially called the Prefect of Police (), and since 1871 has been headquartered in the Caserne de la Cité, a prominent building erected in 1863-1867.
The Paris Police Prefecture supervises the Paris Police force, the Paris Fire Brigade, and various administrative departments in charge of issuing ID cards and driver licenses or monitoring alien residents. The Prefecture of Police also has security duties in the wider Île-de-France as the is also (Prefect for the Defense zone).Île-de-France is one of the seven Defense zones of the French metropolitan territory. Since 2017, it has acquired direct responsibility for the three main airports of the Paris area (Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Le Bourget).
In addition to the , the French government created the Paris Municipal Police () in 2021. In contrast with the Préfecture, the municipal police report to the city government, rather than to the national government. Municipal police officers began patrolling city streets on foot, bicycle, and by car starting on October 18, 2021. The goal of the municipal police is to "make neighbourhoods safer and more peaceful and ensure that public space is shared," for example by enforcing laws on parking, littering, breaking up quarrels, and assisting homeless or elderly residents.
As it is the capital of France, with government assemblies and offices and foreign embassies, Paris poses special issues of security and public order. Consequently, the national government has been responsible for providing law enforcement and emergency services since the creation of the Lieutenancy General of Police () by Louis XIV on March 15, 1667. Disbanded at the start of the French Revolution in 1789, it was replaced by the current Prefecture of Police created by Napoléon I on February 17, 1800. This means that, up until 2021, Paris did not have its own and that the Police Nationale provided all of these services directly as a subdivision of France's Ministry of the Interior.
Policemen assigned to "" are part of the Police nationale but the Police Prefect reports directly to the Interior Minister, not to the director of the Police nationale ( or DGPN). In Parisian slang, the police were sometimes known as "the archers", a very old slang term in reference to the archers of the long-defunct Royal Watch.
Paris also has the "Direction de la Prévention, de la Sécurité et de la Protection" (DPSP) (Prevention, Security and Protection Directorate) which is composed of Agents with municipal police powers titled inspecteurs de sécurité (Security Inspectors).https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do;jsessionid=BCFE2EF8DCF619E5A0962C7EB22BA511.tpdila20v_3?idSectionTA=LEGISCTA000025507674&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000025503132&dateTexte=20120618 French The DPSP reports to the Mayor of Paris.
Jurisdiction The jurisdiction of the Prefecture of Police was initially the Seine . Its jurisdiction also included the (municipalities) of Saint-Cloud, Sèvres, Meudon, and Enghien-les-Bains, which were located in the Seine-et-Oise . These four communes were added in the 19th century to the jurisdiction of the Prefecture of Police in order to ensure special protection of the imperial/royal residences located there.
The Seine was disbanded in 1968 and the jurisdiction of the Prefecture of Police is now the city of Paris (which is both a commune and a ) and the three surrounding of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne. This territory made up of four is larger than the pre-1968 Seine .
The Prefecture of Police also has limited jurisdiction over the whole Île-de-France for the coordination of law enforcement, including combatting cybercrime. The Prefect of Police, acting as Prefect of the Defense Zone of Paris (), is in charge of planning non-military defense measures to keep public order, guarantee the security of public services, and organize rescue operations (in case of natural disaster) for the whole Île-de-France (which is made up of eight , the four inner ones being the regular jurisdiction of the Prefecture of Police, and the four outer ones being outside of its regular jurisdiction). As such, he coordinates the work of the departmental of Île-de-France.
Nomination and missions Headed by a prefect titled The "Prefect of Police", who (as are all prefects) is named by the President in the Council of Ministers, and operates under the Minister of the Interior, commands the Prefecture which is responsible for the following:
security of Paris, if necessary in collaboration with the military; issuing identification cards, driver's licenses, passports, residential and work permits for foreigners; motor vehicle registration and traffic control; registration of associations, and their creation, status modification and dissolution; protection of the environment, general salubrity; determining the dates of discount sales in large stores which can be held only twice a year; issuing permits to bakeries/boulangeries for their summer vacation to assure that all the bakeries in a given neighborhood are not closed at the same time; management of police and firefighters.
The Prefect of Police can issue (local writs) defining rules pertaining to his field of competency. For instance, the rules of operation and security of Paris public parks are issued as joint arrêtés from the Mayor of Paris and the Prefect of Police.
Until 1977, Paris had indeed no elected mayor and the police was essentially in the hands of the . However, the powers of the mayor of Paris were increased at the expense of those of the in 2002, notably for traffic and parking decisions (the retains the responsibility on main thoroughfares such as the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, and on any street during the organization of demonstrations).
There is also a prefect of Paris, prefect for the Île-de-France region, whose services handle some tasks not devoted to the Police Prefect, such as certain classes of building permits.
Address Postal address: 1 bis, rue de Lutèce, 75004 Paris (métro Cité) Tel: 01 54 73 53 73, 01 53 71 53 71, 01 40 79 79 79. Emergency telephone number: 1-1-2 Emergency medical service SAMU/SMUR (Hospital Based) 1-5 Police 1-7 Fire Brigade (Operates emergency ambulances as EMS) 1-8
Organization
The PP is headed by a politically appointed prefect who is assisted by the , who is the senior police officer of the force. The Prefecture of Police is divided into three sub-prefectures headed by prefects due to their importance.
Because the Police Prefecture provides some services that are normally provided by city governments, its funding partially comes from the City of Paris and other city governments within its jurisdiction.
In addition to forces from the National Police, the Police Prefecture has traffic wardens or crossing guards who enforce parking rules; it has recently added some wardens that direct traffic at crossroads and other similar duties, known as circulation, with specific uniforms.
Prefect and Director of the Cabinet Consists of the Cabinet (staff) itself, the Gendarmerie Nationale Liaison Office, and 6 Local Directorates: Public Security – uniformed police officers Lost and Found Property Central Accident Service Public Order and Traffic Control – uniformed police who protect public buildings, provide crowd and traffic control services Judicial Police () – detectives and investigators (the ) General Information – records Inspectorate – internal affairs Paris Fire Brigade – the military unit which provides all fire and emergency ambulance services (other emergency medical services are provided by SAMU/SMUR) and other agencies: Classified Facility Inspectorate Psychiatric Infirmary Toxicology Laboratory Central Laboratory-explosives, pollution, chemical analysis, electrical and fire safety, etc.
Prefect and Secretary-General for the Administration of the Police with four Administrative Directorates: General Police – Administrative police duties Medico-Legal Institute Traffic, Transport, and Trade Population Protection – public health matters Veterinary Service Human Resources – personnel, budget, equipment and police labor disputes
Prefect and Secretary-General for the Zone of Defence with two agencies: Defence Zone staff Interdepartmental Service for Civil Defence
Resources
Budget: One billion Euros by National government 488 million Euros by Paris and surrounding departments of the Personnel: 45,860 employees, of which 30,200 police officers 8,300 Military Personnel of the Paris Fire Brigade 494 Facilities, stations, and offices 6,120 vehicles – including police cars, fire trucks, motorcycles, boats, and helicopters
Activities 350,000 incidents of crime reports two million administrative documents issues 200,000 drivers licenses issued
List of lieutenant generals and prefects of police
Before the French Revolution, the head of the Paris Police was the , whose office was created in March 1667 when the first modern police force in the world was set up by the government of King Louis XIV to police the city of Paris. The office vanished at the start of the French Revolution and police was vested in the hands of the Paris Commune. Reorganized by Napoléon Bonaparte in 1800, the Paris Police has been headed by the since that time.
Lieutenant generals of police Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie: March 29, 1667 – January 29, 1697 Marc René de Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d'Argenson: January 29, 1697 – January 28, 1718 Louis Charles de Machault d'Arnouville (father of French statesman Jean-Baptiste de Machault d'Arnouville): January 28, 1718 – January 26, 1720 Marc Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy, comte d'Argenson (son of Marc René): January 26 – July 1, 1720 Gabriel Taschereau de Baudry: July 1, 1720 – April 26, 1722 Marc Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy, comte d'Argenson: April 26, 1722 – January 28, 1724 Nicolas Ravot d'Ombreval: January 28, 1724 – August 28, 1725 René Hérault (grandfather of French Revolution politician Hérault de Séchelles): August 28, 1725 – December 21, 1739 Claude-Henri Feydeau de Marville: December 21, 1739 – May 27, 1747 Nicolas René Berryer: May 27, 1747 – October 29, 1757 Henri Léonard Jean-Baptiste Bertin: October 29, 1757 – November 21, 1759 Antoine de Sartine: November 21, 1759 – August 24, 1774 Jean Charles Pierre Lenoir: August 24, 1774 – May 14, 1775 Joseph d'Albert: May 14, 1775 – June 19, 1776 Jean Charles Pierre Lenoir: June 19, 1776 – July 31, 1785 Louis Thiroux de Crosne: July 31, 1785 – July 16, 1789
Source: Centre historique des Archives nationales, Série Y, Châtelet de Paris, on page 38 of the PDF.
Prefects of police Louis-Nicolas Dubois: March 8, 1800 – October 14, 1810 Étienne-Denis Pasquier: October 14, 1810 – May 13, 1814 Jacques Claude Beugnot: May 13 – December 27, 1814 Antoine Balthazar Joachim d'André: December 27, 1814 – March 14, 1815 Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne: March 14 – March 20, 1815 Pierre-François Réal: March 20 – July 3, 1815 Eustache Marie Pierre Marc-Antoine Courtin: July 3 – July 9, 1815 Élie Decazes: July 9 – September 29, 1815 Jules Anglès: September 29, 1815 – December 20, 1821 Guy Delavau: December 20, 1821 – January 6, 1828 Louis-Marie de Belleyme: January 6, 1828 – August 13, 1829 Claude Mangin: August 13, 1829 – July 30, 1830 Nicolas Bavoux: July 30 – August 1, 1830 Louis Gaspard Amédée Girod de l'Ain: August 1 – November 7, 1830 Achille Libéral Treilhard: November 7 – December 26, 1830 Jean Jacques Baude: December 26, 1830 – February 21, 1831 Alexandre François Vivien: February 21 – September 17, 1831 Sébastien Louis Saulnier: September 17 – October 15, 1831