~ 14 Gendarmes to be based in Baie Nettle ~
MARIGOT--Sébastien Manzoni is the new Commandant of the Gendarmerie as of August 1, succeeding Paul Betaille.
The new commandant and his deputy Capitaine Régis Turlan Arto were introduced to the press on Friday, at the La Savane compound. The changing of the guard marks the beginning of a three-to-four-year posting in St. Martin for the two officers.
Capitaine Emmanuel Maignan, meanwhile, is first deputy and second-in-command, succeeding Capitaine Sylvain Jouault.
Manzoni (36) is married with two children of ages three and five. He is familiar with the French Antilles having served as Deputy and then Commandant of Groupe des Pelotons d'Intervention (GPI) in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, from 2007 to 2011, and prior to that he was part of the Gendarmerie Mobile in Grenoble en Isère from 2004 to 2007.
Before taking up the post in St. Martin he was Commandant of the Peloton d'Intervention Inter-Regional of the Gendarmerie (PIIG) based in Orange, in Le Vaucluse.
"I know St. Martin because between 2007 and 2011 as Commandant of the GPI in Guadeloupe, I occasionally had to send reinforcements to St. Martin in matters of high level arrests or surveillance missions," he disclosed. "I would come for a week at a time, and of course I have been here and in St. Barths before as a tourist with my family. It is a pleasure for me to be here. I especially asked to be posted here."
Manzoni added he had a "good exchange" with former Commandant Paul Betaille before he left; although it was just for one day the pair had been exchanging information over six months.
He noted Paul Betaille served in the same unit as he had in Grenoble, leaving before him.
Capitaine Régis Turlan Arto (40) is also married with two children. He joined the Gendarmerie in 1999. He attended the officer training school for Gendarmes from 2009 to 2011 in Melon. Prior to taking the post in St. Martin he was Commandant of a community brigade in Pont-Audemer. Capitaine Arto and Commandant Manzoni met only two months ago before knowing they would be working together.
Capitaine Maignan noted he and Arto both attended the same officer school.
Questioned on whether he had any particular priorities, Commandant Manzoni said: "They are the same as my predecessors and that is to stop or reduce the high level of armed robberies, lower the figures and to bring that feeling of security back to the population and businesses. I have read often in France that St. Martiners feel very insecure about crime and one of my priorities is to restore security."
The immediate future bodes well on the crime front with an additional 14 Gendarmes (requested by President François Hollande) who started August 1, as well as two more detectives. Manzoni revealed the new Gendarmes will be based in Baie Nettle to ensure there are always one or more patrols on duty when the Sandy Ground Bridge is open.
History has shown thieves take advantage of the bridge opening to commit a robbery in that area knowing that Gendarmes cannot respond for 20 minutes to half an hour while the bridge is open.
The Gendarmes will be living in Hotel Mercure based on an agreement between the hotel and the French State.
"I feel confident that with these extra resources we will have the means to promote, develop and restore this feeling of security on the French side," he said.
Another bonus is the improvements that will come with the Police Cooperation Treaty. According to Manzoni this has not come into force yet, but is expected to by the end of the year. He noted cooperation and exchange of information is already "very good" between the Dutch and French sides.
The Commandant has not yet met with his Dutch-side counterparts, but it is programmed for later in this month.
