Parachute Intervention Squadron of the National Gendarmerie

Parachute Intervention Squadron of the National Gendarmerie
Escadron Parachutiste d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (French)
EPIGN patch
Active	1984–2007
Country	France
Agency	National Gendarmerie
Type	Police tactical unit
Role	Law enforcement Internal security Close protection Observation & Research
Garrison	Satory, France
Abbreviation	EPIGN
Structure
Operators	139
Notables
Significant operation(s)	Ouvéa cave crisis Air France Flight 8969 assault Numerous embassy protection missions

The Parachute Intervention Squadron of the National Gendarmerie (French: Escadron Parachutiste d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale, EPIGN) was a parachute-trained tactical unit of the French Gendarmerie. The squadron was formed in 1984 with personnel from EPGM, a one-of-a-kind parachute squadron that had been created within the mobile gendarmerie in 1971 and was disestablished at that date. EPIGN, was based in Versailles-Satory with its sister unit GIGN. Besides its primary mission of providing heavy support and reinforcement to GIGN, EPIGN soon developed its own set of missions in the fields of protection and observation. It was finally absorbed, together with the "old" GIGN, into the newly reorganized GIGN in September 2007.^[1]