Department of Protection-Security
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Department of Protection-Security (DPS) or Département Protection et Sécurité is the "security" branch of the National Front political party of France.
A former member of the DPS has given a long interview to a major daily newspaper, Liberation. Using the pseudonym "Dominique", he explained that the DPS has special "unofficial" intervention squads made up of former paratroopers and Foreign Legionnaires, veterans of French interventions in Chad, Lebanon, and the Central African Republic.
They are armed with helmets and shields, gas masks, tear gas launchers, guns that fire rubber bullets, bullet proof vests, clubs, and gloves with lead weights. They have compiled computerized lists of journalists and antifascist activists with their names, addresses, and photos. They engage in punitive actions against their opponents but have, Dominique said, excellent relations with the police, including the police commissioners. They are organized with military grades such as colonel and captain. According to Liberation, the DPS now has 3,000 members. The group's commander, Bernard Courcelle, claimed, "We only defend ourselves. We never attack the meetings of other groups." Courcelle is the former security director of the French armaments manufacturer, Luchaire.