Maréchaussée

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Maréchaussée 1786

The Maréchaussée was a militarily organized police force in France of the Ancien Régime . In 1791 she was replaced by the national gendarmerie . The term is still alive in the Netherlands ( Koninklijke Marechaussee ).

history

Members of the Prévôté de Paris ( far left ) bring joy girls to the municipal workhouse ( Salpêtrière ), 1745

Founded in 1373 by royal order, the Connétablie et Maréchaussée de France was supposed to suppress social unrest. They were also (incorrectly) called Gens d'armes . Under the orders of the Connectables and Marshals of France , the corps increasingly took on judicial and police tasks. It served as a kind of military police during the Hundred Years War , and then developed further at the provincial level . The Paris Edict of 1536 defined the monitoring of the main traffic routes ( Grand Chemins ) as a main task . In 1720 the division into brigades (3 to 5 men) followed, which were posted at intervals of 15 to 20 km along the main traffic routes.

Under Louis XV. the Maréchaussée was nominally affiliated with the Gendarmerie de France , an elite cavalry regiment immediately behind the Royal Guard ( Maison du Roi ). In addition to gaining prestige, it received a uniform organization ( edict of 1720). A mounted company was responsible for each of the 33 provinces . In 1738 the entire corps numbered around 3,000 officers and horsemen .

The most prestigious company was the so-called Connétablie ( Compagnie du Prévôt Général de la Connétablie et Maréchaussée de France ), which was directly subordinate to the Marshals of France in their function as court lords. Special units were also the Maréchausee of the Île de France ( Compagnie du Prévôt Général de la Maréchaussée de l 'Ile-de-France ) stationed in Paris , which monitored the Parisian suburbs and the surrounding area ( banlieue ), as well as the several hundred men strong company of the General Mint ( Compagnie du Prévôt Général des Monnaies de France ), which persecuted counterfeiters in particular .

The Maréchaussée des Voyages et Chasses , established in 1772, served as part of the royal bodyguard during major excursions and hunts.

The powers of the Marechaussée were transferred to the newly established Gendarmerie nationale in 1791 .

organization

The composition of the companies varied from province to province, but was generally similar. As an example, the likes Alsace lying Company serve. According to a report from December 1754 (addressed to the superior judicial director of the province) the company numbered 55 men:

The company staff also included several civil justice officers ( Officiers de Robe )

In 1739, the Alsace Company consisted of nine brigades , which were spread over different villages. In 1772, the company or province was subdivided into the two deputy districts ( lieutenances ) Strasbourg and Colmar .

In 1778 there were some changes in the rank structure: The sous-brigadier was dropped without replacement. The exempt in his hybrid position between officer and non-commissioned officer was replaced by the maréchal des logis ( sergeant ), who was now clearly assigned to the non-commissioned officers and therefore enjoyed less prestige. The officer rank of sous-lieutenant was also newly introduced , in which a certain number of deserved exempts were initially promoted ; the rest continued to serve as maréchal des logis or left. The renaming of the medieval-looking archers (archers) to cavaliers (riders), which took place in 1760, represented a further modernization.

Privileges, Pay, and Recruitment

The members of the Maréchaussée were exempt from all taxes and duties .

Rider of the Maréchaussée in 1786

The professors general and lieutenants of the Maréchaussée had a seat and vote in the court of the Paris Connétablie , which monitored compliance with the ban on duels, especially among aristocrats and the military. They ranked with the lieutenant colonels or captains of the cavalry .

The officers' deputies ( exempts ) were not subject to the penal powers of the Maréchaussée lieutenants; they were allowed to conduct interrogations on their own and were exempted from lower sergeants' duties. They ranked with the lieutenants of the cavalry.

The other NCOs and men also ranked with the cavalry rank higher by one rank.

Several years of service in the army was a prerequisite for filling the position; Cavalry veterans were preferred. The candidates should be over 1.70 meters tall and be able to read and write.

The pay was higher than in the line regiments : Depending on the province, a Maréchaussée rider received up to 500 French pounds ( livres ) a year (for comparison: a line infantryman earned 100 livres , a manufacture worker 300 livres ). In return, the members of the Maréchaussée had to procure horses and equipment at their own expense.

Since 1778, members of the Maréchaussée have been entitled to a disability pension or, after 20 years of service, an equal old-age pension . This ranged from 126 livres for a simple rider to 1200 livres for a general professor.

Until the reforms of the Minister of War, Étienne-François de Choiseul, in the 1760s, the ranks were for sale, sometimes even hereditary.

Uniforms

The uniforms of the provincial companies were dark blue. Collar , discounts , turnbacks and cuffs were red tunics and pants were beige brown. The head is covered with a white hat served tresse skirted tricorn . The carbine bandiers and saber hangers were white.

The uniforms of the Connétablie company were light blue and lavishly embroidered. Uniforms and leather gear of the General Mint Company were kept entirely in red, only underclothes and trousers were brown-beige in color.

literature

  • André Corvisier: L'Armée française de la fin du XVIIe siècle au ministère de Choiseul (= Publications de la Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines de Paris-Sorbonne. Série Recherches. Vol. 15, ISSN  0078-9895 ). Volume 2. Presses Universitaires de France, Paris 1964, pp. 926-934.
  • Liliane Funcken , Fred Funcken : Historical uniforms. Volume 1: 18th century. French Guard and Infantry, British and Prussian Infantry. Mosaik-Verlag, Munich 1977, ISBN 3-570-04361-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. La maréchaussée parisienne de 1667 à 1770 sous les règnes de Louis XIV et Louis XV. Online ( Memento of the original from November 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / perso.numericable.com
  2. Cie de Maréchaussée de l'Ile-de-France , in French, online