MARIGOT--Four final year Lycée students are currently following a training course initiated by the Gendarmerie, the first stage of a lengthy programme to be undertaken in French St. Martin and France that will see them in the future become full-fledged Gendarmes.
The project called "Partenaires pour l'Avenir" is supported by the State and the Collectivité and was presented to the press Wednesday by Commandant Stéphane Brunet and the Brigade for Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency BPDJ. It is the first time such a training programme has been offered by the Gendarmerie.
The four selected students aspiring to a career in the Gendarmerie are Eric Francis, Catherine Kadyss, Jason Paredes, and Claudine Dorville. The introductory training began in January and finishes in June.
The theoretical part of the course consists of studies in mathematics, French language, general knowledge, and study of the Gendarmerie function and military culture. The practical part has a strong emphasis on sports, gym, and physical fitness. The students attend training twice a month for three to four hours.
They are also studying aspects of the judicial system and have had sessions with the prosecutor to gain an understanding of this function. The group has toured the Gendarmerie compound in La Savane and visited the various departments such as the Joint Defence College CID, the Central Office against Illegal Narcotics Trafficking OCRTIS, mobile brigade (motorcycles), etc.
The students will need to study hard on their own from June onwards for the exam that will be held in September. If successful in the exam, they will then go to a non-commissioned officers' school, of which there are many in France, but none overseas.
Training at this school, where they receive a salary, will continue for 10 months, after which they will be attached to a Gendarmerie unit under contract for three years. At the end of this three-year period, they will become a recognised Gendarme with the corresponding stripes.
"The objective of encouraging young St. Martiners to pursue a career with the Gendarmerie is twofold: first, to show that this is an honourable career path to follow, and second, to change the image people have of the Gendarmerie, in other words to change misconceptions some people have of Gendarmes and their function," explained Bernard Allamanno, Gendarme trainer with BPDJ. "These St. Martiners can come back from abroad and resume their careers in the Gendarmerie here, effectively bridging the gap between the population and the Gendarmerie."
The Collectivité is assisting the students with cost of materials, transportation, etc., while they study through the financial assistance programme Fonds d'Aide à l'Insertio
