Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité

The Compagnies républicaines de sécurité (French: [kɔ̃paɲi ʁepyblikɛn də sekyʁite], Republican Security Corps), abbreviated CRS, are the general reserve of the French National Police. They are primarily involved in general security missions, but the task for which they are best known is crowd and riot control. They often arrive in large vans which are known as Camions Remplies de Singes.

The DCCRS has seven units: in Paris, Lille, Rennes, Bordeaux, Marseille, Lyon and Metz.

There are 60 "general service" CRS companies, specialized in public order and crowd control; nine "motorway" companies (French: Compagnies autoroutières) specialized in highway patrol in urban areas; and six "zonal" motorcycle units (one per Defense zone.) Two additional companies and several mountain detachments administratively attached to local companies specialize in Mountain Rescue. One company (CRS n°1) specializes in VIP escort. The National Police band is also a CRS unit.

Some of the CRS officers from the "general service" companies are cross trained and serve as lifeguards on the beaches during the summer vacations.

The expression "les CRS" refers to the whole force. The feminine singular "une CRS" means a company (the noun compagnie is feminine), but the masculine singular "un CRS" is often used to mean "a CRS man"; the press and laypeople frequently use "CRS" to mean any policeman in riot gear and wearing a helmet, whether he is a true CRS or a policeman or a gendarme mobile. The form "trois CRS" in theory means three companies, but is often used to mean three men.