Tour de France#3

Some interesting people pass by when you're waiting for the race to come into view. The gendarme on the right is a member of 'Les Groupes d'Investigation Cynophile'.

They are part of the Departmental Gendarmerie, where they are officially attached to the gendarmerie's surveillance and intervention platoons. The Cynophile Investigation Groups are made up of at least three Gendarmerie career staff, all dog masters.

The Cynophile Investigation Groups were created in regions where a request for police intervention was superior to the capabilities of the dog masters present in the Gendarmerie's surveillance and intervention platoons. Unlike the latter, these gendarmes perform only missions where the dogs must be employed, they will not then do roadside surveillance, investigations or any other activity specific to gendarmes. Amongst other tasks they search for narcotics, weapons, ammunition & explosives.

The Cynophile Investigation Groups consist of two dogs per gendarme, and one for the unit commander. All members of these units are NCOs. They then all received continuous training at the National Dog Training Center of the Gendarmerie1. Oh and just in case the dog's not enough, he has an automatic weapon...