The Republican Guard

The mission of the Republican Guard is to provide year-round protection and defense for the President of the Republic, our institutions as well as members of parliament. The soldiers of the Republican Guard's 1st Infantry Regiment are more specifically dedicated to the protection and defense of the Presidency of the Republic and the head of state.

The Palace's military command

Indissociable from life at the Élysée Palace and the day-to-day running of the presidential residences, the military command comprises more than 210 officers and gendarmes assigned to the Presidency, reinforced by a detachment of the Republican Guard's 1st Infantry Regiment. The military commander is a gendarmerie officer, responsible for the safety and protection of the presidential premises, as well as the authorities and agents working there.

He is assisted by a deputy, military second-in-command, and by the head of the Group of the secured logistical resources, who is responsible for managing the fleet of vehicles and the car garage. Close-quarters security teams are in charge of ensuring the security of the Hôtel d'Évreux and the protection of the President and First Lady at the Palace and Fort de Brégançon.

Republican honors 

When the President of the Republic, head of the Army, receives a distinguished guest at the Élysée Palace, military honors are paid by cavalrymen, infantrymen and musicians of the Republican Guard in full-service uniform.
The Presidency's military commander is responsible for carrying out this military ceremonial, the nature and size of which are determined by the Protocol service. These are outward demonstrations of esteem, marks of respect due to the status and quality of the welcomed guest, related in particular to his or her protocol rank, and which also depend on the importance of the visit (interview, lunch or dinner, state visit).
Thus, a foreign head of state in office will always be greeted in the same way: a piquet of honor will be set up on the sidewalk outside the Palace in front of the entrance to the 55, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, then three sections, each with 18 infantrymen of the 1st Infantry Regiment, the Guard music and ten cavalrymen on foot on the perron will welcome him or her into the main courtyard.

The great changing of the Guard 

This ceremony, which is open to the public, is repeated every first Tuesday of the month. Two sections of 16 soldiers from the 1st Infantry Regiment march along the Avenue de Marigny and the Rue de l'Élysée, meeting in front of the official entrance to the Palais de l'Élysée on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. After an exchange of military salutes and instructions between the two section heads, members of the rising guard enter the main courtyard of the Palace, at a cadenced pace, before taking up their posts for the next 24 hours.