Au revoir to the kepi

Au revoir to the kepi

By John Greenwood
BBC, Paris

The kepi: A national institution

Say France and what image comes to mind? - the Eiffel Tower, a long baguette, a bottle of French wine?

But there is no prouder symbol of Frenchness than the traditional uniform of the gendarme - the policeman with his distinctive kepi or hat.

For generations the kepi has been a familiar feature of French life.

What's important is that the image for gendarmes is positive and they must be proud of their uniforms, like they're proud of their role

Michele Alliot-Marie
French defence minister

But now things are changing and, in a shock to many, the government has decided the gendarme's image is out of date. The uniform and kepi have to go.

France has a range of different kinds of police officer.

If you fall foul of the law you are likely to be stopped by an officer of the National Police, or maybe the Frontier Police, or, when the going gets really tough, the CRS riot squad.

If you are rollerblading against the traffic, you could even find a skating cop on your tail.

National institution

But the gendarmes are different - they are actually part of the army, although they carry out many duties of the police.

We don't wear it very often because it's embarrassing

Gendarme Vanessa Angibaud

Set up in the 1500s by the king to track down deserting soldiers, they became responsible for keeping law and order throughout the land.

By the 19th Century the kepi was born and it has stayed with the gendarmes every since.

The image became a national institution as famous abroad as at home.

But now the historic hat is set to be replaced by an American-style baseball cap.

Zip top

Asked what gendarmes thought about the loss of the kepi, gendarme Vanessa Angibaud said:

The new uniform should be easier to wear

"Some of them think that they will lose something that is traditional. But in fact we don't wear it very often because it's embarrassing. When we want to run in the street - we would lose it by running."

The new uniform also includes a zip top instead of a pullover - easier to put on and take off and easier to wear with a bullet-proof vest.

The change of clothes is only part of a government-plan to modernise a confusing system of policing in France where the roles of the various forces tend to overlap.

The gendarmes mainly look after the countryside - the police are in charge of the towns.

But the population movement over the past 100 years means that in many rural areas there is hardly any trouble, while the city police struggle to keep the lid on a rising crime wave.

If the kepi is to be consigned to the hatbox of history, the only other people who wear it will be members of the armed forces, like the French Foreign Legion.

The changes will go through over the next year. The kepi will only be seen after that at official ceremonies.

It will not be so much adieu as au revoir to this world-famous piece of French tradition.