gendarmerie

[ zhahn-dahr-muh-ree; French zhahn-dar-muh-ree ]

/ ʒɑnˈdɑr mə ri; French ʒɑ̃ dar məˈri /

gendarmes collectively; a body of gendarmes.

Origin of gendarmerie

From French, dating back to 1545–55; see origin at gendarme, -ery

The SS, German gendarmerie, and Gestapo were all stationed in its vicinity.

The Week in Death: Irving Milchberg, the Teenage Gunrunner of the Warsaw Ghetto |The Telegraph |March 1, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The boss-nappers gave way when riot cops from the French gendarmerie moved into the building to get them out.

The French Boss-Nappers’ Last Stand |Christopher Dickey |January 7, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They were reassured once the police and medics arrived and the hikers and Briton were taken to the gendarmerie for questioning.

Hiker Recounts Grisly Murder Scene in French Alps |The Telegraph |September 12, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
The law, the gendarmerie, and the police constitute a body almost equal in number; is not that strange?

Scenes from a Courtesan's Life |Honore de Balzac

He was a steamship agent, thus disguised to escape the attention of the gendarmerie.

Charities and the Commons: The Pittsburgh Survey, Part I: The People |Various
A commander of the gendarmerie mounts the hillside on his bicycle, pedalling with all his strength.

'Neath Verdun, August-October, 1914 |Maurice Genevoix
The gendarmerie of Tsarism throttled the workers who were fighting for the Socialist order.

Dictatorship vs. Democracy |Leon Trotsky
The brigands became thoroughly disheartened, and we hear of no more desperate encounters with the gendarmerie.

Rambles in the Islands of Corsica and Sardinia |Thomas Forester

gendarmerie

/ (ʒɒnˈdɑːmərɪ, French ʒɑ̃darməri) /

the whole corps of gendarmes

the headquarters or barracks of a body of gendarmes