Former GIGN officer Paul Barril, French ‘Supergendarme’ turned mercenary, died at 80
From elite police to business
Barril joined the GIGN, a military police intervention unit, in 1974. French news media portrayed him as an exceptionally fit officer, skilled in diving, karate and parachuting, as well as hostage rescue.
After leaving the force in 1984, Barril founded Secrets, a company whose name stood for Security Equipment Planning and Realization Company. He went on to work as a security adviser and mercenary provider.
Services for powerful clients
Barril offered African leaders surveillance and efforts to undermine their opponents. His pitch included infiltrating newspapers and neutralizing plots against governments. Among those who used his services were Gabon’s Omar Bongo and Congo’s Denis Sassou-Nguesso. Other customers visited his Paris shop for security products such as bulletproof vests and night-vision goggles. Barril described the business in one of six autobiographies, “The Elysee’s Secret Wars,” published in 1996.
Scrutiny over Rwanda allegations
Human rights groups implicated Barril in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The article does not specify the nature of the groups’ allegations. His work after the gendarmerie drew scrutiny because he sold arms and provided other services to governments described as unsavory.
Key points
- Barril died Oct. 20 at 80 in Antibes, France; he had Parkinson’s disease.
- He joined the GIGN in 1974 and left the gendarmerie in 1984.
- His company offered security services and equipment to clients including leaders in Gabon and Congo.
- Human rights groups implicated Barril in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.