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The National Police (Police Nationale), formerly known as the Sûreté nationale (National Security), is one of two national police forces of France, the other being the National Gendarmerie.
The National Police is the country's main civil law enforcement agency, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. By contrast, the National Gendarmerie has primary jurisdiction in smaller towns, as well as in rural and border areas.
The National Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior.
The national police force was created on 14 August 1941, under the Vichy regime, by uniting the the Sûreté Nationale and the Préfecture de Police in Paris (Paris Police). They were again seperated after the Liberation on 16 November 1944.
In 1966 the Sûreté Nationale and the Préfecture de Police were amalgamated to form the Police Nationale (National Police).
