Reviving the tradition of travel, which had been put on hold for several years, the Jura Ud had organized for September 25 and 26, a 2-day trip to Seine-et-Marne. This escapade took us to this magnificent department of the Paris region, rich in history and gendarmerie heritage.
The first stop was the visit to the castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte. Home of Nicolas Fouquet, Superintendent of Finances of King Louis XIV, this majestic building sits in the middle of a sumptuous park. A guide, experienced in the history of the place, picked us up at the exit of the restaurant “the squirrel”, Nicolas Fouquet’s heraldic animal, to take us in the footsteps of the first occupants of the site. Despite the capricious weather, the fifty travelers from Jura were able to admire the interior of the castle and the carriage museum, which contains around twenty horse-drawn carriages, all as beautiful as they are curious. A few courageous people, braving the rain and the wind, walked the garden paths, under their umbrellas, recalling the strolls under the parasols of past centuries…
At the end of the afternoon, the bus driver, who is also retired from the Gendarmerie and member of the Ud39, took us to the Military Academy of the National Gendarmerie (AMGN) in Melun. It was indeed at the AMGN, the new name of the National Gendarmerie Officers School (EOGN), that we were going to eat and be accommodated for the night.
The second day was going to be entirely focused on the History and traditions of our Armed Forces. After a few souvenir photos in front of the main building of the National Gendarmerie Military Academy and the monument dedicated to Marshal Moncey (another Franche-Comté figure), the group headed towards the Gendarmerie museum, opened in 2015 in its new configuration. The participants were delighted and delighted; veterans of the Army to review certain outfits or objects that they may have used in the past, and spouses to discover the world of the Gendarmerie through the ages.
After the very friendly meal at the school’s mixed circle, the troop headed towards Fontainebleau, the point of reaching the National Road Safety Training Center (CNFSR), the temple of motorcyclists! On our arrival at the Lariboisière district, barracks bringing together the CNFSR and the training of volunteer assistant gendarmes, we are welcomed by Captain Brice Dabard, who will be our guide for the afternoon. All the travelers were able to visit the motorcycle tradition room, which brings together an impressive number of motorcycles, brand new despite the advanced age of some, which have armed the motorized units of the Gendarmerie since the beginning of the last century… Joined by lieutenant-colonel Renaud Benne, commander of the CNFSR, and his deputy lieutenant-colonel Cyrille Cousi, the 9 former motorcyclists who took part in the trip experienced a moment of particular emotion by finding the machines on which they worked, but also those with which they traveled the training tracks of the polygon. Jean Brochet, our oldest motorcyclist of the day, major commander of Motorized Platoon in the 80s, found the motorcycle with which he completed his training course… in 1963.
Then, the group headed towards the polygon, guided by Captain Brice Dabard, to discover the training tracks on which a class of trainees were evolving. Memories for some and discovery for others, all were delighted to see or see again, the site on which so many Gendarmes came to train in piloting.
At the end of the afternoon, we set off on our way back, not without warmly thanking the commander of the CNFSR and his collaborators for the excellent welcome and the remarkable care of our group.
Eric Durieux-Trouilleton, president of Ud39.
