A police officer with the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) took his own life “at a Ministry of the Interior site” in Essonne, the Evry prosecutor’s office announced Tuesday, marking the fourth suicide of a domestic intelligence officer in France.
Earlier in 2025, at least three DGSI officers are known to have committed suicide at the Levallois-Perret site (Hauts-de-Seine).
According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, a total of 27 police officers and 26 gendarmes committed suicide in 2024, the lowest figure in 20 years, celebrated Le Monde back in January.
In 2022, 10 police officers and gendarmes committed suicide in less than a month, with France Bleu noting that on average, there are between 30 and 40 suicides annually. Meanwhile, 2019 saw a record 50 suicides.
The Ministry of Health established a national suicide prevention hotline, “3114,” back in October 2021, and the Operational Psychological Support Service (SSPO), created in 1996, has doubled its resources and number of clinical psychologists.
According to MFP, progress has been made, with suicides among police officers having dropped by more than 50 percent since 2019. However, suicides in the military ranks (gendarmes) have now reached a level almost equivalent to that of the police, even though their numbers are considerably smaller.
For 2024, the number of gendarmes taking their own lives increased 24 percent to 26.
“There has been no recent improvement in suicide management and prevention policies,” says David Ramos, president of GendXXI, the first professional association for military personnel in the gendarmerie created in France. There is persistent “institutional inaction” in the face of growing distress, he adds.
Ramos points to increasing workloads, as people who leave are never replaced, poor equipment, and an overall feeling of abandonment. MFP notes that “the gendarmes are on the front lines,” having to face extremely violent situations more and more as social tensions are on the rise. Officers are confronted frequently with child abuse, pornography, and terrorism — all of which take a tremendous toll, especially as they feel more and more resentment from those they seek to protect.
“The more tensions rise in society, the more we are called upon, often in violent contexts,” notes Ramos.
“(Their) work is becoming increasingly difficult because gendarmes are repeatedly confronted with particularly severe violence, whether directed at other members of the public or at other officers. The gendarmes themselves are increasingly being targeted because their actions are being questioned,” Ramos told Marianne.
“The gendarmerie increasingly feels it is losing its soul and the meaning of its mission,” he added, stating that, “given the demographic trends, areas under the jurisdiction of the gendarmerie are experiencing much greater population growth than those under the jurisdiction of the police.”
In light of this growing issue, it is important to note that French gendarmes patrol areas that are migrant-heavy and where many migrant activities occur, including border areas and crossings.
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