Gign

In the first half of the 70s, due to the changed situation both in France and abroad, in the overseas territories, several special units were created as part of the gendarmerie. One of these units was the squadron of mobile gendarmerie paratroopers formed on January 1, 1971 (the place of deployment of Mont de Marsan), intended for operations as part of the 11th airborne division outside France. Since that day, squadron personnel have repeatedly participated in various operations conducted by the French government in their overseas territories or in former colonies: Chad (1980), Lebanon (1978-1985) and several times in the Central African Republic. After the terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics in 1972 in France, it was decided to create a detachment to combat terrorism. ^[2] On March 1, 1974, the more well-known special anti-terrorist unit, the National Gendarmerie Rapid Response Group (Groupment d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale, GIGN), was created as part of the gendarmerie.

In the early 80s, after a series of anti-terrorist operations, as well as taking into account the prevailing situation and the experience gained in using special units, the leadership of the military gendarmerie came to the conclusion that there was a need for closer interaction between all of their elite units. As a result, on January 1, 1984, the Office of Security and Rapid Response was established. Along with the security department of the president of the republic and the anti-terrorist unit, it also included a paratrooper squadron, renamed the squadron of rapid response paratroopers of the national gendarmerie (Escadron Parachutiste d'Intervention de la Gendarmrie Nationale, EPIGN). Its location was Versailles-Satori, a suburb of Paris.

From that moment, the main task of the squadron was to ensure the activities of two other units of the newly created department. Successfully carried out joint operations with the rapid response team in Cyprus (1984) and Bois D'Arcy (1985), as well as securing visits by the President of France to Germany (1985), Togo (1986), Jordan and Egypt, together with the President’s security department, convincingly confirmed to the French gendarmerie the correctness of the decision.

In 1973 , GIGN was created as a permanent special unit consisting of trained and equipped fighters capable of withstanding terrorist attacks, minimizing the risk to hostages and the public. GIGN took up combat duty in early March 1974 under the command of Lieutenant Christian Pruto .

One of GIGN's operations is the liberation of the Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca in 1979.

Initially, GIGN consisted of 15 fighters, later the unit was expanded to 48 in 1984 , to 57 in 1988 and 87 in 2000. ^[2]

The group was twice awarded the Cross of Military Valor : in 2011 for honors in Afghanistan, Côte d'Ivoire and Libya, and in 2013 for honors in Afghanistan ^{[3] [4]} .

• A large role was played by the French GIGN special forces in the release of hostages during the terrorist attack on the territory of the mosque in Mecca (November 20, 1979) ^[5]
• the release of 30 children trapped in a school bus in Djibouti in 1976;
• the release of diplomats from the French Embassy in San Salvador in 1979 (the hostage-taker surrendered before the assault);
• the arrest of a terrorist from the Corsica National Liberation Front in 1980;
• the release of the hostages in a cave in New Caledonia in May 1988;
• safety during the Albertville Winter Olympics;
• the release of 229 passengers and crew in Marseilles in December 1994. The plane was captured by four terrorists who wanted to destroy the Eiffel Tower. Three passengers were executed during negotiations with the Government of Algeria. The mission was widely publicized in the press;
• the arrest of Bob Denard in 1995 in the Comoros;
• the arrest of persons accused of war crimes in Bosnia;
• Release of hostages in a store in Paris, January 9, 2015 ;
• The elimination of terrorists in the suburbs of Paris, January 9, 2015.
• On the evening of November 13, 2015, shooting occurred in the Bataklan concert hall. At that time, the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal performed there, and there was a full house in the hall. Three terrorists entered the building and shot spectators. In the course of the special operation, the terrorists were either killed or activated suicide belts. The attack killed 89 spectators of the concert, injured more than 200 people

GIGN was selected by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to train special forces of other member states of the international anti-terror forces.

The armament of the group is very diverse. It is no exaggeration to say that almost everything that is used by various anti-terrorist units is also used in GIGN. It:

• pistols Glock-17 , Glock 19 , Glock 26 , SIG P226 , SIG-Sauer P228 (including with tactical magazines for 20 rounds), SIG SP2022, Beretta 92
• Manurhin MR73 .357 Magnum revolvers
• assault rifles FAMAS , SIG SG 552, SIG SG 551, SIG SG 550 , HK G3 , HK416 , HK417
• submachine guns FN P90 , HK MP5 (including modifications with integrated silencers and LCC), HK UMP
• machine guns fn minimi
• smoothbore guns Remington 870 , Beneli Super 90, Franchi SPAS 12 , VPO 205 ^[6] .
• Remington 700 sniper rifles ( 7.62 × 51 mm NATO and .338 Lapua Magnum models), Barrett M82 , Barrett M95 , PGM Hecate II .50 BMG caliber.

• The Counter-Strike game series is one of the playable classes.
• Battlefield 3 - In a single-player game, the GIGN detachment impedes the GRU detachment, suggesting that they are trying to detonate an atomic bomb .
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - GIGN fighters help Delta in Paris search for the Wolf in a mission of "Particularly Valuable Cargo". Also present in special operations (where the GIGN squad can be ordered to help repel attacks) and multiplayer.
• Rainbow Six: Siege is one of the playable factions.
• Hitman: Contracts - in the last mission of the game, this special unit stormed the hotel, where the 47th was wounded in the story.
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - in one mission, Tommy was supposed to take chips from a French agent, but GIGN intervened.