After a ceremony in the Sainte Jeanne-d'Arc church, the Gard gendarmes celebrated Sainte-Geneviève, patroness of the gendarmes, at the Nîmes town hall.
This Friday, November 29, Sainte-Geneviève is celebrated. A special Saint for the gendarmes of Gard, as everywhere in France. “She is the protector of Paris, in the 5th century AD, when the Huns of Attila wanted to raze the city, she protected the population of Paris, inside the ramparts. That's why she became the patron saint of the gendarmerie, for her role in protecting populations.recalls Colonel Emmanuel Casso, during his speech in honor of this ceremony which was held at the town hall, in the presence in particular of Mayor Jean-Paul Fournier and Marie-Charlotte Euvrad, representing the Prefect of Gard.
A day of gathering, during which the commitment and actions of the gendarmes were praised at length by Jean-Paul Fournier who, as he recalls, is himself the son of a gendarme. “I grew up to the rhythm of your values, that of duty, integrity. Your daily commitment, that of protecting citizens and ensuring their security is an essential mission”he emphasizes.
44 gendarmes injured in intervention this year
For Colonel Emmanuel Casso, this ceremony is also an opportunity to recall the commitment of his men to the year 2024, like the agricultural protest last winter “where many gendarmes were mobilized for several days to support the movement, but also the floods of March which were a significant point”he emphasizes. On the legal aspect, he also returned to the operation square net last spring, the seizure of 18 kg of cocaine in Alès and the mobilization during the Olympics this summer. “In 2024, 44 gendarmes in the Department were also injured in intervention”he regrets.
New technologies and environmental and social transitions, future challenges for 2025
For his part, the Prefect of Gard, represented by his chief of staff Marie-Charlotte Euvrad, highlighted the actions to combat domestic violence, but also “votive festivals and ferias, exceptional climatic phenomena, demonstrations of all kinds, the fight against delinquency and road insecurity which also required your constant mobilization”she insists. For the year 2025, she also discusses the many other challenges that await the police, such as the rise of technologies but also the environmental and social transitions that are transforming our territory. “But I have no doubt that you will be able to meet the challenges, because you are and you will remain one of the pillars of the Republic”she concludes.
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