As such, it could have had FNI format car plates but it always kept its own local format. Special plates Permanent special plates Unlike the SIV system, the FNI comprised many special plates. The state public services, such as the National Police (), had special plates that comprised the code; a letter to indicate in which area the vehicle was authorised to travel (D for the , R for the region, N for the national territory, E for the European Union); a dash; four numbers from 1001 to 9999; and a letter. The French Armed Forces (), including the Gendarmerie () had a different registration plate with: a number to identify the army unit (2 for Gendarmerie, 6 for the Army (), 7 for the Air Force (), 7 for the Navy () and 8 for the General Services); two digits to identify the year of car registration (01 for 2001); a number to identify the type of vehicle (1 for cars and coaches, 3 for lorries, etc.) and four numbers from 0001 to 9999. Registration plates bore the symbol of the army unit the vehicle belonged to, for instance a black anchor on a French flag for the Navy. The Paris Fire Brigade (), although part of the Armed Forces, had different plates with letters to identify the type of vehicle, for instance PS for first aid, followed by numbers. The Marseille Naval Fire Battalion () used regular plates with the Bouches-du-Rhône code, while the one in Brest used similar plates as the Navy. In Paris, RATP buses used special registration plates with only four numbers until March 2003, when standard registration plates were adopted. Diplomatic cars used green plates with orange or white lettering, depending on the series. Plates comprised one to three numbers identifying the embassy or the international organisation; letters identifying the status (C for consulates, CD for embassies, CMD for ambassadors, K for technical staff); and a series of numbers. Agricultural vehicles had white or yellow plates with black lettering. They contained one to five numbers identifying the farm and the code. Several vehicles belonging to the same farm could share the same figures. German military staff in France used black plates with white characters. Registration plates started with DF followed by a number identifying the headquarters area (0 to 3 for Paris, 4 for Var and 6 to 9 for Strasbourg) and three numbers