To activate the English subtitles, watch on youtube and click on "cc", just to bad we cannot activate them on embed version.



This is a documentary about the selection/recruitment process of the

GIGN, France's foremost counter-terror unit. It was first broadcast on

French TV in 2004.



A few explanations for those of you who are unfamiliar with the French military:



-

The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces assigned to law

enforcement duties among civilian populations. A "gendarme" is a member

of this force and is thus basically a police officer with a military

status.



- The GIGN (Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie

Nationale -- National Gendarmerie Intervention Group) is an elite unit

of the Gendarmerie, tasked with counter-terror duties, hostage rescue

operations, arrest and transfer of very dangerous criminals, VIP

protection of government officials etc. Its most famous operation was

the rescue of the hijacked Air France airliner at Marseille-Marignane

airport in 1994.



- To this day (January 2012), 10 GIGN gendarmes

have died on duty (8 in training, 2 during operations) since the

creation of the unit in 1974.



- The GIGN is known internally as "le Groupe" ("The Group").



- The Mobile Gendarmerie and Republican Guard are divisions of the Gendarmerie. (The GIGN is part of the former.)



- The FAMAS often mentioned in this documentary is the standard-issue assault rifle of the French Armed Forces.



- Some ranks specific to the French military (Gendarmerie branch):

A "marechal-des-logis-chef" is reportedly equivalent to a staff sergeant (SSG) in the US.

An "adjudant" is reportedly equivalent to a master sergeant (MSG) in the US and a Warrant Officer 2 in the UK/Commonwealth.

An "adjudant-chef" is reportedly equivalent to a sergeant major (SGM) in the US and a Warrant Officer 1 in the UK/Commonwealth.

A

"major" is approximately equivalent in the US to a "command sergeant

major" (CSM) or a "sergeant major of the Army" (SMA) (to be confirmed).



- Saint-Cyr is France's foremost military academy (the equivalent of West Point in the US and Sandhurst in the UK).