After Chile in December 2024, then the Netherlands in April 2025, it was in the heart of the French capital, at Les Célestins, headquarters of the Republican Guard, that the third FIEP commission took place on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 May 2025. Always focused on the great theme of the French presidency, namely “Impact and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) for gendarmerie-type forces”, this commission addressed the subject of the exploitation of AI in the field of new technologies.
To begin the reflections on this theme, the commission began with the intervention of Françoise Soulié. French specialist in A.I., university professor and scientific advisor of Hub France A.I., Françoise Soulié mentioned the importance for the gendarmerie forces to address as soon as possible the issue of A.I. in terms of security, and more specifically in the field of cybercrime, as well as the means that can be put in place by the gendarmerie forces to achieve this.
It is on this first reflection, particularly rich, that the debates were then launched between the various delegations of gendarmerie present. While the national contact points met to discuss current affairs of the FIEP association, the experts met in another room to discuss the first ideas brought by the intervention of Françoise Soulié. The coordinator of the experts was General Patrick Perrot, in charge of A.I. issues in gendarmerie, and the presidency also called on Ysens De France, expert A.I. in the transformation department of the General Directorate of the National Gendarmerie and Christine Dugoin-Clément, researcher at the Research Centre of the Military Academy of the National Gendarmerie. On the national contact points side, exchanges were led by Lieutenant-Colonel Olivier Monceret of the Gendarmerie Command for External Missions (CGMEx), in charge of FIEP, and his assistant, Warrant Officer Maurice Lehmann.
Under the leadership of the French Presidency, the experts each discussed the legal, operational and institutional framework within which their countries operate to exploit I.A. in new technologies. A particularly enriching round table according to General Patrick Perrot: “The A.I. brings new threats, but the A.I. will also be the solution to these new threats. I would say that the interest of this FIEP gathering is to exchange with different countries, to get acquainted with what everyone does, to share our knowledge in this area and above all to try to progress together.”
After the discovery of the Centaure multi-purpose armoured vehicle and a visit to the Judicial Pole of the Gendarmerie Nationale on Tuesday afternoon, the commission resumed on Wednesday morning. In parallel with the meetings between experts, FIEP delegations also attended an intervention by General Laurent Lesaffre, commander of the Provost Gendarmerie Command, and Lieutenant-colonel Laurianne Clautiaux, who presented the New technologies department of the transformation service. Taking advantage of being at the heart of the Republican Guard, participants then attended a presentation of the Section of protection and support drones (anti-drone fight), snipers gendarmerie and public security on horseback. The opportunity to exchange on these topics and highlight the capabilities and expertise of the French gendarmerie.
The commission was closed by the Deputy-General of the Gendarmerie Nationale, Corps General André Petillot. In his speech, the of the gendarmerie recalled the importance of FIEP and the gendarmerie model, in a tense societal and geopolitical context. Our military identity gives us versatility, resilience and responsiveness. These essential qualities ensure rapid adaptation to these new areas of crime.”
The Deputy-General then recalled that “this commission allowed to study A.I. from a double angle: on the one hand to present the ways in which A.I. is misused by criminals in the physical and digital environments of our countries, and to demonstrate how our institutions can use A.I. to better combat increasingly sophisticated threats.” Threats that will be discussed again at the next working committee to be held in Romania at the end of June and at the FIEP Summit in Paris, which will bring together the directors general of the member countries in October 2025 and will come to close the French presidency of FIEP.