On Thursday, November 28, in the reception room of the bell tower of Montrouge (Val-de-Marne), gendarmes, firefighters or police officers in civilian clothes, sitting at high tables, await the visit of the industrialists. The posters placed near them detail their needs: anti-drone fight, communication systems, intelligence acquisition, cybersecurity… In its fourth edition, the AGIR exhibition (Gendarmerie support for innovation, industry and research) , testifies to the irresistible: and, at times, worrying: the rise of high technology in the field of internal security. Since the first edition of the show, in 2021, the number of companies in the sector present has increased from 110 to almost 500.
As with speed dating, each professional has a quarter of an hour to convince a “bearer of need” that has a suitable solution or is capable of developing it. The meetings, marked by knowledge that mixes business English and security jargon, address a wide spectrum of needs, from composting organic waste for canteens to very high-tech software aimed at massive digital data processing. “On the other hand, in the end we didn’t get it”specifies Lieutenant Colonel Mikaël Petit, innovation/transformation advisor at the strategy center of the General Directorate of the National Gendarmerie and head of the show. After an initial contact, a process of defining precise needs and collaboration extends over several months before the finished product is validated and put into service.
The companies present, sometimes start-ups, constitute the central objective of the collaborations expected by the security and emergency services due to the importance assumed by technologies. “duals”whose use refers to both security or defense matters and civil matters. Drones are an excellent example. While there is little chance that criminals will be able to deploy a military-style flying device, the use of civilian drones for offensive or intelligence purposes has already been observed, to deliver drugs behind prison walls or scrutinize the movements of a drug trafficking competitor. However, in almost all cases, commercially purchased drones are used to achieve these ends. “Hence the importance of knowing this ecosystem and quickly finding a solution to an operational need”Lieutenant Colonel Petit further specifies.
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