Gardaí are set to head to Disneyland Paris this summer – to help Irish punters enjoy their holidays, the French ambassador to Dublin has revealed.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, ambassador Vincent Guérend said a pilot scheme that saw gardai work in northern France last summer was so successful that it has been extended to other parts of the country this year – including the Disney theme park close to Paris.
That scheme will see uniformed gardai patrolling the massive site with French police during the peak summer months – offering advice and assurance to any Irish holidaymakers who need help.
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And, speaking to us in the French embassy in Dublin’s Merrion Square, Mr Guérend also confirmed that gardai would be deployed to France for the Rugby World Cup in September and October.
Several uniformed gardai spent July and August of 2022 patrolling the Mont Saint Michel area of Normandy, popular with thousands of Irish tourists every year – and the Ambassador yesterday told us the scheme would be repeated this summer.
As well as Disneyland and Mont Saint Michel, gardai would be deployed to tourist hot spot of Giverny close to Paris and the Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley in central France, he said.
Mr Guérend told us: “We are very glad that this year again after last year, we'll have some gardai deployed in France, both on big touristic sites like in Disneyland Paris, like the Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley, like Mont Saint Michel, also in Giverny.
“Giverny is a very nice place where Claude Monet painted, close to Paris. It’s full of tourists, it’s a very, very nice place.
“We will have the deployment and we will also have a deployment during the Rugby World Cup where some gardai will be there in uniform to help the French police manage the large crowds.
We expect many Irish supporters to come over for the various matches.”
The Ambassador said the presence of gardai in France, who will patrol with officers from the Gendarmerie police force, would reassure Irish tourists – and be a recognisable face if they needed any help.
“If an Irish tourist sees a Garda uniform, he will think “Oh, I know this uniform, I can ask him or he will maybe give me some advice.’”
Mr Guérend also revealed he hoped French cops would soon be deployed to Ireland – to offer the same help to students from that country who have just arrived here.
He said: “We are very ready and willing to send here French police men or women to any events.
“There's no World Cup but let's imagine if you have the euros in 2028 or so. We will also think that (French police could) accompany during the start of the academic year the thousands of French students who are coming to Ireland.
“Sometimes they are a little lost so (the idea would be) to give them some security briefing alongside the Garda Siochana - of course we're not replacing them. That’s one idea, there can be others.
“They will be unarmed, of course.”
Mr Guérend spoke to The Mirror after we established that four members of the French Gendarmerie Nationale police force spent a fortnight studying with student gardai at the force’s Templemore training college in Co Tipperary in recent weeks.
The French group consisted of an instructor and three trainees – and Mr Guérend said the officers were blown away by the Garda’s insistence on fostering strong links with the communities that the force polices.
He said: “For them, it was really enlightening and an eye-opener.
“There are many similarities in terms of ethics and in terms of intellectual and physical requirements, sports and learning about law and law and order, etc, but what they very much appreciated in Ireland is that the gardai are really expected to be engaging with the community and be close to the community and be open in terms of communication.
“Here the approach is completely different for many good reasons.
“And even though of course in France, police are also asked to be close to the citizen and to protect the citizens, these three young French gendarmes were positively impressed by this training which was given to the Garda college to be really within the community, engaging with the community.”
The Ambassador said the exchange was part of a joint action plan of cooperation signed between the two governments when French President Emanuel Macron visited Ireland in August 2021.
He said: “It's a really broad kind of strategic document, which is the roadmap for the cooperation between France and Ireland."
The ambassador said France had similar long standing arrangements with neighbours Italy, Germany and Spain – but the Irish link is new.
He said: “It's something I say which was made even more interesting in fairness because of Brexit because Brexit, frankly put Ireland even more on the map of the (other EU) Member States and of France. You are even more unique than you were before.
“We had excellent relations before. We were very friendly and neighbourly etc, before, but it's true that Brexit brought us even closer together.
“That's a fact.”
And the Ambassador also said he believed the exchange system would continue.
He said: “We have several batches (of trainee gendarmes) a year, so we will expect several batches of gendarmes coming here and this being a pattern.”
The Joint Action Plan also includes increased cooperation between civil agencies, including customs and veterinary bodies, Mr Guérend said.
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