The uniform was introduced into the French army by François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois (1641-1691), then minister of Louis XIV, but it was not until 1690 that the first ordinances appeared prescribing uniform clothing for all soldiers of the same regiment. However, the «maréchaussées » (1), although being an armed force in the service of the king, were not concerned by this revival.
It was not until the ordinance of March 16, 1720, with the suppression of all the old provincial « maréchaussées » and the creation of the new Royal Maréchaussée bringing together in a single body all the old companies, that the uniform of the maréchaussée was fixed in a precise manner.With this order, this troop abandoned the « hoqueton » in favour of the « justaucorps » (leotard). From then on, the uniform of the new "maréchaussée" will follow in its broad outline the modifications undergone by that of the rest of the army, in particular the main garment will change shape at the same time as that of the other troops.
After the "justaucorp" (leotard), the ordinance of 1769 introduced the French-style habit. When the law of February 16, 1791 abolished the « Maréchaussée » and reconstituted it under the name of « National Gendarmerie », this new corps kept its royal uniform, which was not abandoned in turn until 1813 for the « habit-veste ». This last will disappear in 1871 after many transformations in favor of the tunic which will be replaced in 1914 by the pea jacket. Now retouched many times, the pea jacket will lose its rank of main piece in the operational clothing of the gendarme, to appear only in the dress of city and ceremony, when, in 1989, the microporous jacket and sweater will make their appearances. These will in turn be abandoned and replaced by a new microporous jacket and the « fleece » type jacket.
Tenue bleu-gendarme offers you to discover a large number of outfits and uniforms in use or having been used in the « maréchaussée » and then in the national gendarmerie.
« (1) "maréchaussées": small troops of armed men created by King Francis I (1515 - 1547) and which were to be installed little by little in all the provinces of France to fight the soldiers of the king's army who were engaged in pillaging and killing civilian populations. The size of these troops, called company, varied according to the size of the province (from 10 to more than 100 men). Initially, this mission was the responsibility of companies attached to the four marshals of France, but they could not bring order to the whole country, which is why Francis I decided to create small companies that he installed in each province. These companies, which were placed under the orders of the marshals of France, were called "maréchaussées". During the French Revolution, this armed force took the name of "gendarmerie".
