Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes

The Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes (Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects, DGDDI), commonly known as les douanes (Customs), is the customs service of the French Republic. It is responsible for levying indirect taxes, preventing smuggling, surveilling borders and investigating counterfeit money. The agency acts as a coast guard, border guard, sea rescue organisation, and customs service. In addition, since 1995, the agency has replaced the Border Police units of the National Police in carrying out immigration control at smaller border checkpoints, in particular at maritime borders and regional airports. The Directorate-general is controlled by the Minister for the Budget, Public Accounts and the Civil Service (Ministère du Budget, des Comptes publics et de la Fonction publique) at the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Employment. It is normally known simply as "la douane", individual officers being referred to as "douaniers". Officers are routinely armed. The first French customs service was called the Ferme générale ("General Farm") and operated under the monarchy. The ferme générale was a private company which bought each year the right to collect taxes. After the Revolution, the General Farm was dismantled and the French Customs, as a State service were created. Shortly after the instauration of Empire, the Customs gained a military status. Some personnels were affected in bureaux (port or office-based staff who were tasked to apply customs measures to the goods entering and leaving France), others in brigades (mobile detachments organized and equipped to patrol the borders and arrest smugglers). During French wars, notably the Franco-Prussian War and the First World War. the brigades were used to form marksmen units and to track enemy units trying to infiltrate French lines. During WW1, due to their knowledge of the areas and their experience in human tracking, they were part of Corps Francs (small units which were tasked to operate behind German lines to collect intelligence and perform sabotages on enemy targets).