France No. 1 (2005)
Agreement
between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland and the Government of the French Republic concerning
the carrying of Service Weapons by French Officers on the territory of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Le Touquet, 4 February 2003
[The Agreement is not in force]
Presented to Parliament
by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
by Command of Her Majesty
January 2005
Cm 6444 £3.00
© Crown copyright 2004
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3
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC CONCERNING THE
CARRYING OF SERVICE WEAPONS BY FRENCH OFFICERS ON THE
TERRITORY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND
NORTHERN IRELAND
The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland and
the Government of the French Republic,
Hereinafter called "the Parties",
Having regard to the Protocol between the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and
Northern Ireland and the French Republic concerning Frontier Controls
and
Policing, Co-operation in Criminal Justice, Public Safety and Mutual
Assistance
relating to the Channel Fixed Link, signed at Sangatte on 25 November
19911, and
in particular Articles 28(2) and 47 thereof, and the Additional Protocol
signed at
Brussels on 29 May 20002, and in particular Articles 2 and 6 thereof,
Have agreed as follows:
SECTION 1
General Provisions
ARTICLE 1
In the present Agreement the term "officer" shall mean exclusively
officers of the
French Customs and officers of the French National Police belonging to
the
Direction Centrale de la Police aux Frontières.
ARTICLE 2
In the present Agreement, the term "service weapon" shall mean the arm
regularly
assigned to officers by the relevant authority.
ARTICLE 3
An officer may only carry a single service weapon and twelve cartridges.
1 Treaty Series No. 70 (1993) Cm 2366
2 Treaty Series No. 33 (2002) Cm 5586
4
ARTICLE 4
Only uniformed officers shall be authorised to carry a service weapon.
ARTICLE 5
The name of officers authorised to carry a service weapon, as well as
the category
of service weapon with which they are equipped in the exercise of their
functions,
shall be reported in advance to the competent British authorities, who
shall provide
the permanent individual authorisations on the basis of that
information.
ARTICLE 6
The officers shall not be authorised to carry their service weapons
outside the
French control zone, except in the cases mentioned in articles 13, 14
and 16 of the
present Agreement, and except in the case of exceptional circumstances
requiring
the evacuation of the train on British territory.
ARTICLE 7
Officers may not use their service weapons unless strictly required for
self-defence
or defence of their colleagues. The British authorities shall be
informed
immediately.
ARTICLE 8
A service weapon may not be left unattended, unless it is deposited in a
protected
location within the area allocated to the French authorities in the
control zones of
the stations of Cheriton, Ashford International and Waterloo
International.
ARTICLE 9
"Secure" cabinets intended for the temporary deposit of service weapons
and
munitions shall be installed within the protected location situated
within the area
allocated to the French authorities in the control zones of the stations
of Cheriton,
Ashford International and Waterloo International when the armed officers
exercise
their operations there. These secure cabinets, which shall be provided
by the French
authorities, must meet the technical specifications drawn up in
agreement with the
British authorities.
5
ARTICLE 10
The loading and unloading of service weapons shall be carried out in
accordance
with the security instructions established by the French authorities, in
an unloading
area situated in the protected location referred to in Article 8 of the
present
Agreement.
ARTICLE 11
The British police shall be informed immediately of the loss, theft or
accidental
misuse of a service weapon by an officer. Any information relevant to
the enquiry
shall be reported to them.
SECTION II
Carrying Service Weapons on Trains
ARTICLE 12
In order to exercise their functions, the officers shall be authorised
to carry their
service weapon during the journey to and from the control zones of the
stations of
Cheriton, Ashford International and Waterloo International.
ARTICLE 13
Through Trains
When making checks on board through trains, officers shall be authorised
to carry
their service weapon throughout the journey.
On their arrival at Ashford International and Waterloo International,
officers who
do not immediately board another train must go to the area allocated to
the French
authorities, and there deposit their service weapon in the secure
cabinet referred to
in Article 9 of the present Agreement until they board another train.
ARTICLE 14
Shuttles
When travelling to Cheriton Station by shuttle officers shall go direct
to their
control zone upon their arrival at the station.
6
SECTION III
Provisions applicable within the control zones situated in the territory
of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
ARTICLE 15
The French authorities shall determine, depending on their needs, the
number of
armed officers who will be on duty in each team. The teams shall in
principle be
under the supervision of a senior officer.
ARTICLE 16
On British territory, service weapons may not be carried by officers
outside the
control zones, except during the journey to those zones and during the
process of
boarding and leaving the train. If the officers leave the control zones
of a station
for any other reason they must deposit their service weapon in the
cabinet referred
to in Article 9 of the present Agreement.
Access to the protected location referred to in Article 8 of the present
Agreement
shall be restricted strictly for officers in the exercise of their
functions. In case of
emergency, and outside the hours of duty of such officers, access to
that location
shall be strictly restricted for the British Transport Police (BTP) and
Kent County
Constabulary.
SECTION IV
Final Provisions
ARTICLE 17
Each of the Parties shall notify the other of the completion of its own
constitutional
procedures required for the entry INTO phpbb_force of the present Agreement,
which shall
enter INTO phpbb_force on the day on which the second notification is
received.
ARTICLE 18
The rules governing the carrying of service weapons as set out in the
present
Agreement may be amended, as required, by administrative arrangement.
7
ARTICLE 19
The present Agreement may be terminated by the competent authorities of
either of
the Parties by giving a period of notice of six months.
Done in duplicate at Le Touquet this fourth day of February 2003 in the
English
and French languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
For the Government of the For the Government
United Kingdom of Great Britain of the French Republic:
and Northern Ireland:
DAVID BLUNKETT NICHOLAS SARKOZY
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