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Despite its state-of-the-art equipment, the French municipal police are actively recruiting. However, a fringe of unscrupulous agents are trying to raise the bill by playing the competition card.
Third security force in France, the municipal police are short of arms. There are a total of 24,000 in the country, but 4,000 positions are vacant. To attract them, the town halls provide the most recent equipment. In Saint-Laurent-du-Var (Alpes-Maritimes), the brigade has five scooters at € 20,000 each and six cars for 38 agents. “We have 9mm semi-automatics, a latest generation camera-pedestrian, a tear gas canister and the latest taser”, for a total of 6,000 € of equipment, explains one of the members.
All over France, town halls are looking to recruit, but salary remains a delicate subject during job interviews. “Some candidates do not hesitate to say that they are offered more elsewhere. They must not become mercenaries”, insists Tony Surville-Perafide, director of security in Puteaux (Hauts-de-Seine). By having the possibility of changing city, municipal police officers increase their salaries with the help of bonuses. “It’s like a football transfer window. I go to the highest bidder”, an agent confides anonymously. This practice allows him to earn € 600 more than a national police officer, with equal experience.
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