of complaints against CRS officers on the subject of racism and racial profiling. "CRS = SS" was a famous slogan of May 68. Note on the French mobile police forces The two French anti-riot forces, the CRS and the Gendarmerie Mobile are often mistaken for each other, as some of their missions are similar, but they can be distinguished by uniform. The uniform of the CRS is blue while that of the gendarmes mobiles is black. The CRS wear a big red CRS patch and their helmets sport yellow bands; the gendarmes have a stylized grenade on their medium-blue helmets. In January 2009, the French state implemented a rapprochement ("bringing together") of the police and the gendarmerie. While this policy falls short of a complete fusion or merger, as the gendarmes have kept their military status (while the CRS are a highly unionized civilian body), this has led to more commonality in terms of equipment for the two forces. Notes and references Bibliography Robert Le Texier, Les Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité, éditions Lavauzelle, Paris-Limoges, 1981. Maurice Agulhon and Fernand Barrat: C.R.S. à Marseille 1944-1947 6 Armand Collin, Paris 1971. Jean-Louis Courtois, CRS au service de la nation, C/O Crepin-Leblond, novembre 2004. External links La Direction centrale des compagnies républicaines de sécurité, CRS page on the French National police website History of the CRS 1944 establishments in France National Police (France)