Christian Prouteau

About Christian Prouteau

Christian Prouteau, commander of training at the 41st Transmission Regiment (1970-1971), platoon commander and head of training at Squadron 6/3 of Mobile Gendarmerie (1972-1973), as well as ‘Commando’ Instructor in the training of special units of the Gendarmerie (1972-1973), founded the GIGN (National Gendarmerie Intervention Group) in 1973.

Ten years of intensive training and extreme risk-taking at the limits of human capability allowed him to lead more than sixty operations resulting in the release of over three hundred hostages. In 1979-1980, he was tasked with auditing the vulnerability of French Nuclear Power Plants.

Due to his international reputation, he was called upon to create the GSPR (Presidential Security Group) in 1982, responsible for protecting François Mitterrand and his entourage 24/7, 365 days a year in France and during all his trips abroad. He remained in this position until 1995. During this period, he faced the greatest dangers, placing the respect for life above all else. He had to monitor and ‘listen’ to potential enemies of the State, by order: this resulted in a humiliating trial, which he faced, but not without pain.

He was also tasked with preserving the anonymity of the one whom the host of the Élysée cherished particularly: his hidden daughter, whom no one named, and whom he discreetly referred to as ‘The little lady.’ An unusual mission for his GSPR men, former GIGN members suddenly transformed into babysitters, playing hide-and-seek with their charge and playing pétanque with her father, watching over her acquaintances, and guarding against kidnapping threats.

As the delegated prefect for the Olympic Games, Christian Prouteau was responsible for the design, control, and implementation of the security system for the Games from 1988 to 1992. He created a security command staff, responsible for designing the system and preparing, with sub-prefects, a field command organization.