who is Colonel Olivier Langou, new boss of the gendarmes?

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He officially took charge of the 1,176 active and reserve gendarmes of Essonne. Tuesday October 8, 2024, the ceremony of taking command of Colonel Olivier Langou took place in the Villeroy Park in Mennecy. Arriving on September 1 from the digital department of the Ministry of the Interior, he succeeds Colonel Hugues Sublet, who left to head the national gendarmerie.

Protection of populations and public tranquility

His first month spent in Essonne allowed him to familiarize himself with the territory and appreciate the priorities which will be his.

“The fight against drug trafficking and urban rodeos, the prevention of fights between gangs which affect young people, the fight against burglariesattacks on property and people,” lists the new boss of the gendarmes.

THE intra-family violence, which, as in other territories, are exploding, are also one of the priorities on which he will have to act.

There is work to continue, particularly in partnership with victims’ associations. There is already a Family Prevention and Protection Center in Essonne, a very important place for improving the handling of complaints and the reception of victims.

An engineering background and specialization in digital

An experienced soldier, the 51-year-old man has had an atypical career path. After the Saint-Cyr military high school, he obtained a engineering degree within the Ecole des Mines of Saint-Etienne, then within the public engineering school in computer science and applied mathematics of Grenoble, but always keeping the gendarmerie in mind.

First a mobile gendarme at Versailles Satory, Olivier Langou then took care of computer systems at the central management of the gendarmerie before returning to the field, at the head of the Lucé gendarmerie brigade (Eure-et-Loir).

Returning to management as office manager in the internal security technologies and information systems department where he participated in the Neo project, namely the deployment of a secure fleet of connected mobile terminals for the benefit of police officers across the country.

“The engineer’s reasoning applies very well in the field”

By becoming a group commander, the digital specialist gendarme reaches the position he wanted to occupy when he was younger.

“I did not start with the gendarmerie, but when my father held these positions and I in turn wanted to become a group commander. This is not not an outcome, but a very important step for me,” he confides.

From now on in charge of protecting the 385,000 inhabitants who reside in the 145 municipalities in the gendarmerie zone, Olivier Langou intends to put these engineering skills to good use.

The engineer’s reasoning applies very well in the field. We analyze problems, we look for solutions and we put them into action in partnership with a diversity of actors concerned by these problems.

“The population is healthy vigilant”

“I noted that we have often acts treated in flagrante delicto. The population is healthy and vigilant and calls us fairly quickly, which allows us to intervene quickly. It’s important, it’s not everywhere in France,” continues the soldier.

Like his predecessors, Olivier Langou will also have to manage the specifics relating to the department: the development of the Saclay plateau, an international research center, but also the prison problem in Fleury-Mérogis which hosts the largest prison in Europe or the security of the Fête de l’Humanité.

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