Les mutations de gendarmes depuis le XIX e siècle, entre contrainte institutionnelle et liberté individuelle

The Gendarmerie - a branch of The French Armed Forces ? had a high rate of geographic mobility during the 19th and 20th centuries. Mobility was one of the means available to officers for managing their men and this meant that professional transfers were a frequent occurrence in the course of a gendarme?s career. These compulsory transfers were a source of considerable discontent on the part of the gendarmes concerned. Yet gendarmes also claimed the right to transfers for both personal and professional reasons. The conflict between institutional constraints and personal interests meant that the issue of mobility in the Gendarmerie was a ?power game? and therefore subject to constant negotiation. This situation produced a solid set of shared values, the predominating one being the granting of priority based on length of service. Above all, it provided a new forum for discussion and one that was particularly original for such a highly structured military institution.