Gendarmerie: Change of commanding officer for the GIGN

The GIGN command handover ceremony took place on Thursday 30 March in Satory, in the Yvelines, in the presence of the Director-General of the Gendarmerie, Richard Lizurey, and the Prefect of Police, Michel Cadot. Laurent Phélip, who had been the deputy commander, took command of this elite unit, replacing General Hubert Bonneau, who had led the GIGN since 1 September 2014. Hubert Bonneau is embarking on a diplomatic career; he has been appointed Head of Department at the central administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, taking up the post of Director of Diplomatic Security with effect from 3 April 2017. His successor, Colonel Laurent Phélip, is a 48-year-old graduate of the Saint-Cyr Military Academy who served with the GIGN on several occasions: first from 1994 to 2000, then from 2007 to 2011, and finally as deputy commander since 2016. In the meantime, he graduated from the École de Guerre, commanded the Bouches-du-Rhône gendarmerie group and also held a post in the Defence Office of the DGGN.