shutterstock-1252796164

Metro: RATP agents now armed with tasers

undefined undefined undefined 08h30

The Editor

© Salvatore Allotta / Shutterstock

It's a small revolution about to arrive in the corridors of the Paris metro! As part of an experiment, certain agents from RATP and SNCF will be allowed to carry electric stun guns, also known as tasers, in response to the rising violence in public transport.

It's the transport minister himself who made the announcement on TF1 this Thursday, February 19. In the coming days, some security agents on the RATP and SNCF networks will be equipped with non-lethal weapons so they can react to certain situations without necessarily resorting to more violent methods. This experiment is set to last 3 years and will involve several hundred agents before potentially becoming the norm.


A middle ground to ensure everyone's safety

Last spring, the government adopted a law to enhance safety in public transport. This legislation allows agents to conduct searches when necessary or continue checks outside train stations.

And a new milestone will soon be reached, as in a few days or weeks, some of them will also be able to use tasers.

Just a reminder, all safety agents of the SNCF, the SUGE (general surveillance service of the SNCF), and the RATP, the GPSR (group for the protection and security of networks), are already sworn and trained, and thus authorized to carry lethal weapons. However, carrying a taser would allow for an intermediate option between the pepper spray or a baton on one side, and pistols on the other, to respond to certain situations that could endanger passengers or agents.


A Gradual Experimentation

Initially, only 10% of the agents will be equipped, which means between 300 and 400 people. They will be carefully selected and will undergo individual authorizations.

duelles and à training in order to carry an electric impulse weapon. And of course, they will only be able to use it in cases of extreme necessity. According to the Official Journal of the government, this decision follows a desire to enhance the management of risky situations, reduce the use of firearms, or the risk of bodily harm to third parties and agents of the internal security services of SNCF and the Parisian transport authority ». The trial period is expected to last for three years, before it may be possibly extended to all agents.