As part of the "European Commissariats" program, I served in Agde, southern France, in the Police Nationale (PN) commissariat in July 2019. I normally work on patrol duty for the Düsseldorf police.

The aim of the assignment was to support the French police during the main holiday period, when the number of residents in Agde multiplies, particularly due to European tourists, by carrying out joint patrols with the local police station.

My place of work, the city of Agde, is located in the south of France near Montpellier on the river Hérault in the department of Hérault. The town consists of various districts. The city center of Agde, the Grau d'Agde, the district of La Tamarissière and the Cap d'Agde. The town is particularly known for a nude quarter in Cap d'Agde, the Quartier Naturiste.

I stayed at a campsite in a mobile home, which I shared with a Spanish and a French colleague. The comfortable accommodation was provided free of charge by the French police.

Everyday working life

I completed my service together with a Spanish colleague from the "Polica Nacional", with whom I also lived, at the Groupe de Sécurité de Proximité (GSP) of the Commisariat d`Agde. The group's tasks include maintaining a police presence, carrying out exceptional operations requiring more than one operational unit and presenting suspects in court. The organizational unit consists of two groups of five police officers each.

I was always on duty in German uniform with my own service weapon during the day from 12 noon to 8 pm or from 9 am to 5 pm. In addition to the presence duties, I was particularly involved in missions with German tourists. We also carried out driving and foot patrols through the various parts of the city. There was also time to talk at length with my French colleagues about work and private matters. In addition to the actual tasks of my group, I was also asked several times by my colleagues to come to the police station to assist with taking reports from German victims.

I also had the opportunity to take part in a police ceremony. This was extremely unusual for me, who only knows a demilitarized police force. I also accompanied the Patrouille de France on the beach in Agde.

Exceptional missions

During my four weeks of service in France, I can look back on three outstanding missions, two of which I couldn't have come close to experiencing during my service in Düsseldorf at the Mitte police station.

Forest fire

The first of these operations was a fire in the immediate vicinity of a main road. When we arrived at the scene, I was impressed by how quickly a fire can spread through bushes, fields and meadows and also by how professionally and quickly the police and firefighters responded. While we were trying to guide the vehicles out of the immediate danger zone, the fire department was already starting to extinguish the fire. I and the nervous road users were particularly surprised by the extreme smoke development. It was not easy to help the many tourists, often with caravans, to turn around on the road and let the traffic flow away as quickly as possible. After we had cleared the danger zone and cordoned off the road, we were able to observe the professional work of the fire department. The coordination of the firefighters from the fire department helicopter and the approach of the firefighting aircraft were new and impressive for me.

Fatal traffic accident

The second outstanding operation was a tragic, fatal traffic accident in which a father ran over his 18-month-old son on a campsite. My patrol and I arrived at the scene at the same time as other emergency services. While my colleagues immediately took care of the child's resuscitation, I looked after the father right from the start. I probably wouldn't have been able to find the right words in German either.

Person in the sea in danger of drowning

On my third deployment, I was on patrol in Grau d'Agde, close to the beach, when we were approached by a panicked woman who told us that her husband was in distress more than 150 meters from the beach and could not swim. At the same time, the lady pointed to a man in the water who was her husband. As there was no rescue post in the immediate vicinity, a French colleague and I went into the water to rescue the man in distress. Another colleague took over the coordination of the operation with the control center. It later turned out that the man in the water was not the panicked woman's husband, but simply a swimmer who was swimming on the spot. We then found the supposed victim on his towel on the beach.

Sharing experiences together

In addition to patrol duty, we took the opportunity to show and explain our equipment to each other. I was particularly impressed by the "lance grenade (MP7) and Flashball 40x46" ranged weapons, which are used to fend off people at a distance with gas cartridges and rubber bullets, as well as the Taser.

The French colleagues were enthusiastic about the protective vest, the EMS-A and the submachine gun as equipment for every patrol car and about the patrol car itself.

We also often discussed the legal system in France, Germany and Spain. We realized that we are still a long way from a unified Europe in terms of police and criminal procedure law.

From the official to the private sphere

Through the joint patrol duty and the many conversations, I was able to significantly improve my French language level. As a result, we colleagues understood each other better and better. We were invited to barbecues at our French colleagues' homes. This hospitality, which I didn't take for granted, made me very happy and I was able to experience that the profession of police officer is something very special, and not only in Germany. I hope that I can keep in touch with my French and Spanish colleagues and return some of their hospitality one day.