That was interesting. We met a French policeman and his Italian wife at Elie's bar in the market in Sommieres today.
I arrived early (I don't suppose beer had anything to do with it? - Ed) and sat at a large table with the couple who were eating their oysters. After I started kidding about with Elie, the man joined in with the banter and the chat carried on from there. It turned out that he is a policeman with the Police Nationale. Being a bit ignorant about these things, I asked him about the difference between the Gendarmerie and the Police Nationale. He further complicated my understanding by stating that the PN only operate in Nimes, Tarascon and Alès. In other words only the large towns in Gard and that the Gendarmerie operated in other areas.
If you aren't already bored enough then Wiki explains it. Anyway, one thing lead to another and, after he claimed that his wife was a great cook, they invited us for dinner next week for a 'real' lasagna. How nice is that?
1 comment:
I found this very interesting! Thanks for that. I had assumed that the police in the cities were the same as the ones in the countryside. If I see one in future, I will now know their rank by their shoulder flashes.
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