The etymological origin of the term gendarme is found in Latin and we can establish that it is the result of the sum of three lexical components:
-The noun “gens”, which means “people”.
-The particle “of”.
-The word “arme”, which can be translated as “weapon”.
In this sense, it must be established that the origin of the use of this term can already be found in the Middle Ages. And at that time they spoke of “gentlemen” who had the peculiarity that they always fought wearing full armor.
A gendarme is a member of a police force existing in several countries, whose job is to ensure security and order . The gendarme corps is called the gendarmerie .
The powers and functions of the gendarmes depend on each nation . In Argentina , the National Gendarmerie is a police force but of a military nature: that is why it is considered an intermediate force. It was created in 1938 to provide security to the inhabitants of remote areas and to secure the borders.
Currently there are more than 80,000 Argentine gendarmes dedicated to guarding strategic sites . These gendarmes provide services in the areas of internal security and national defense. They also participate in foreign policy peace and security missions.
The Chilean Gendarmerie , meanwhile, is a penitentiary institution. It is in charge of prison security, working to enforce sentences and the social reintegration of detainees. The Chilean gendarmes, therefore, take care of the prisons and also buildings belonging to the Judicial Branch .
In Mexico , the National Gendarmerie is a force created in 2014 from the division of the Federal Police . It has about 10,000 gendarmes who fight organized crime and aim to guarantee public safety.
French gendarmes, meanwhile, carry out police missions in peri-urban areas and rural areas. Its functions include providing assistance in emergency cases, searching for those who violated criminal law, and law enforcement.
In addition to all the above, we must take into account the existence of several films that have the word in question in their title. This would be the case, for example, of “The Gendarme of Saint-Tropez”. This is a Franco-Italian comedy that premiered in 1964 under the direction of filmmaker Jean Girault.
It is part of the six-film saga titled “The Gendarme” and tells the story of a gendarme who, thanks to the experience and work he has done over the years, is promoted and sent as chief sergeant to a gendarmerie in Saint-Tropez where You will find yourself having to solve the most picturesque situations. The actor in charge of giving life to that character is Louis de Funès.
In other countries, there are forces that act as military police but are not called gendarmerie, such as the Civil Guard of Spain and the National Guard of Venezuela .
In the same way, we cannot ignore the existence of a brand of perfumes and colognes that responds to the name of Gendarme. This is specialized mainly in products for men such as Gendarme V.