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Who were the guys in civilian clothes helping the Police?


One thing that was hard to make sense of from a non-French point of view were the vigilante-looking guys who rolled around in clapped-out hatchbacks with "Police" armbands and beanies, carrying pistols (e.g. the "Notre Dame" cop who clips Vinz), who for all intents and purposes, looked like a citizen's miltia sponsored by the Police or something, getting even for the anti-Police sentiment in French ghettos.

Are these some kind of undercover, Police liaison officers specialising in urban areas? Does France still deploy officers in these kinds of roles and were they actually notorious for civil liberty violations and police brutality back in the day?

When the Defecation hits the Oscillation

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They were plain clothes cops. Usually detectives or seasoned officers assigned to special task forces. It's not just France, most countries still have them. And what constitutes the violation of a civil liberty is a matter of perspective.

I've had a lot of sobering thoughts in my time Del Boy, it's them that started me drinking!

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Duh, they were police. Not all police officers wear uniforms.

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They are plain clothes policemen known as "la BAC" for "Brigade Anti-Criminalité".

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