Hire a Bodyguard in France: Close Protection Under French Law
Can you hire a bodyguard in France?
Yes. Close protection is a regulated private security activity in France. Book VI of the Code de la sécurité intérieure lists the protection of the physical integrity of persons among the private security activities it governs (article L611-1, 3°). Two licences decide whether a bodyguard is lawful: the company needs a CNAPS authorisation to operate, and each officer needs an individual CNAPS professional card.
Algoz arranges officers who hold that card, supplied by a CNAPS-authorised company, in Paris, Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez and Courchevel. The base is EUR 950 per officer per 12-hour day, and we ask for at least seven days’ notice. Send your dates and a confidential written proposal with the final rate follows within 24 hours, with no obligation.
Close protection in France, delivered by a CNAPS-authorised company.
Algoz plans, coordinates and answers for every detail in France. The officers on the ground are supplied by 1831 Prétorien, part of Algoz Group, a French close protection company authorised by the CNAPS, the national regulator of private security under the Ministry of the Interior. Its authorisation covers exactly this work: the physical protection of persons (protection physique des personnes). Every officer on a detail holds the individual CNAPS professional card French law requires. Where a detail is delivered by another authorised company, its CNAPS number comes with the proposal.
1831 Prétorien (SAS)
19 avenue des Diables Bleus, 06300 Nice, France
CNAPS authorisation to operate: AUT-006-2124-09-09-20250998257
Authorised activity: physical protection of persons (close protection)
CNAPS decision AUT-S1-2025-09-09-A-00091013, issued 25-SEP-2025
RCS Nice 989 019 013
SIRET: 989 019 013 00014
Intra-community VAT: FR02989019013
French law (articles L612-14 and L612-15 of the Code de la sécurité intérieure) requires this statement: « L’autorisation d’exercice ne confère aucune prérogative de puissance publique à l’entreprise ou aux personnes qui en bénéficient. » In English: the authorisation to operate confers no prerogative of public authority on the company or on the persons who benefit from it.
Check the company in the French public business register
How Algoz and 1831 Prétorien work together is set out on the Algoz Editorial: close protection in France with 1831 Prétorien.
Hiring a bodyguard in France: the questions people ask first.
Is it legal?
Yes, within one framework: a company authorised by the CNAPS for close protection, and an officer holding the CNAPS professional card for the same activity. A detail outside that framework is unlawful.
What it costs
From EUR 950 per officer per 12-hour day, the base rate for Europe. The chauffeur and vehicle, a second officer, an armoured vehicle on request and peak dates are quoted in writing, to the brief.
How much notice we need
At least seven days. That is the honest lead time for vetting the brief, assigning the right officer and doing the advance work. Under 48 hours is an urgency case: additional fees, and no guarantee.
Unarmed protection
Every detail is unarmed, as is the rule for close protection in France, and low profile by design.
Where we cover
Paris, Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez and Courchevel, each with its own page, on one brief and with one Algoz contact. Monaco is a separate state and has its own page.
Who you get
An officer holding the individual CNAPS card and the professional qualification it requires (article R612-24), NDA-bound, working in French and English, chosen for discretion as much as for experience. Female officers on request, and the Algoz desk answers 24/7.
How close protection is regulated in France.
The activity. Book VI of the Code de la sécurité intérieure governs private security in France. Its first article names, as activity 3°, the protection of the physical integrity of persons: close protection, or protection physique des personnes (article L611-1). A company that carries out this activity may do nothing else, because the law makes it exclusive of any other activity (article L612-2). A guarding or event security firm therefore cannot supply a bodyguard.
The regulator. The CNAPS, the Conseil national des activités privées de sécurité, is a public body of the French State. It issues, suspends and withdraws the approvals, authorisations and professional cards of the sector, and it enforces professional discipline (article L632-1).
The company. A close protection company needs a CNAPS authorisation to operate, for its main establishment and for each secondary one. Its proposals, contracts and advertising must show the identification of that authorisation and the statement of article L612-14, that the authorisation confers no prerogative of public authority (article L612-15).
The officer. Each officer needs an individual CNAPS professional card. The card attests the conditions of article L612-20: no conviction on the criminal record that is incompatible with the work, an administrative inquiry that finds nothing incompatible with it, professional aptitude, including knowledge of the principles of the Republic, and sufficient knowledge of French. A foreign national also needs a residence permit that allows work in France, in most cases held for at least five years. The director of the CNAPS issues the card as a registration number. It is valid for five years and requires the professional qualification set by article R612-24. Renewal depends on continuing training and is requested at least three months before expiry.
Sources: Code de la sécurité intérieure, Book VI, on Légifrance, the CNAPS and Bpifrance Création on the close protection officer. The same test in other countries: bodyguard laws by country.
How to check a bodyguard provider in France before you sign.
The authorisation number is on the paper. The company’s CNAPS authorisation appears on its proposal and its contract, with the statement of article L612-14 (article L612-15). A proposal without them is a warning sign.
It covers close protection. The authorisation must cover the physical protection of persons, not guarding or event security (articles L611-1 and L612-2).
The authorisation is valid. The CNAPS tells buyers to check the validity of the company’s authorisation in its public directory before contracting, and to check the approval of the managers named on the company’s registration extract, the Kbis.
You ask for each officer’s card. You may ask for the professional card references of every officer on the service, and the provider must give them without delay (article L612-15). The CNAPS also advises asking for a copy of each card.
The card is valid on your dates. A card lasts five years. Check that it is current for your stay and that it covers close protection.
A foreign licence is not a French card. A UK SIA licence, a US state permit or a Gulf security card does not replace the CNAPS card. An officer who signs an employment contract for this work without the card commits an offence (article L617-8: one year’s imprisonment and a EUR 15,000 fine), and so does the employer who takes on someone without it (article L617-7: two years and EUR 30,000).
Operating without a CNAPS authorisation, or subcontracting close protection to a company that has none, carries three years’ imprisonment and a EUR 45,000 fine (article L617-4). The CNAPS also reminds buyers that hiring a security company does not relieve them of their own responsibility. Algoz sends the CNAPS authorisation of 1831 Prétorien and each officer’s card references with the proposal, on request.
Sources: article L612-15, the penal provisions of Book VI, articles L617-1 and following and the CNAPS advice to buyers of private security.
Are bodyguards in France armed?
No. Every detail we arrange in France is unarmed, as is the rule for close protection in France. Most are one CNAPS-carded officer, a chauffeured car and a plan. We do not offer armed protection in France.
The protection rests on the work that actually prevents trouble: the advance on routes and venues, the door that is used and the place the car waits, and an officer who stays low profile. If a brief seems to call for more, we say so in the first reply and propose the team that fits.
Close protection in five French cities, on one brief.
Paris
Thirteen of the 33 hotels France officially designates as Palaces are in Paris. Details start at Le Bourget for private aviation, at Charles de Gaulle and Orly, or at Gare du Nord off the Eurostar. The Paris Air Show runs from 14 to 20 June 2027. See bodyguard in Paris and executive transportation in Paris.
Nice
The Riviera base, where 1831 Prétorien, part of Algoz Group, is registered. Arrivals at Nice Côte d’Azur airport, the port, and the villa coast of Villefranche, Cap Ferrat and Antibes, home to two Palaces: the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat and the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc. See bodyguard in Nice and executive transportation on the French Riviera.
Cannes
The Croisette runs as one line of sight from the Palais des Festivals to Port Canto, and the festival and congress weeks at the Palais set the calendar. The Hôtel Martinez is on the 2026 Palace list. See bodyguard in Cannes.
Saint-Tropez
Summer villas in Les Parcs de Saint-Tropez, Gassin and Ramatuelle, the old port and the beach clubs of Pampelonne. Three Palaces: Airelles Château de la Messardière, Cheval Blanc St-Tropez and La Réserve Ramatuelle. See bodyguard in Saint-Tropez and executive transportation in Saint-Tropez.
Courchevel
Winter in the chalets of Courchevel 1850, with arrivals by the altiport or by road from Geneva, Lyon and Chambéry. Five Palaces stand here: Airelles, Cheval Blanc, Fouquet’s, L’Apogée and Le K2 Palace. See bodyguard in Courchevel and executive transportation in Courchevel.
Monaco
A separate sovereign state with its own rules, so it has its own page: bodyguard in Monaco. A Riviera itinerary covers Monaco and the French coast on the same brief.
Palace list: Atout France, 2 June 2026, each distinction granted for three years. Chauffeured cars come through executive transportation, and our concierge in France arranges the rest of the stay under the same contact.
Bodyguard services in France.
Close protection officers
CNAPS-carded officers on a 12-hour day, NDA-bound before your name is shared, briefed to the itinerary and dressed for a board table or a beach club as the day asks.
Airport and FBO meet with protected transfer
The officer meets you at the aircraft, in the terminal or off the train, and rides with you. The car is driven by a professional chauffeur, arranged through our executive transportation desk. If you request a security driver, a CNAPS-carded protection agent at the wheel, we arrange one and quote it in writing.
Villa, chalet and residence protection
A survey of the property and its approaches, gate and staff awareness, and cover for a villa on the Riviera, an apartment in Paris or a chalet in Courchevel, including a house taken for one season.
Festival, Fashion Week and event protection
Advance work for the shows, the festival and the trade fairs. We find the entrance actually used, the holding point for the car and the exit that avoids the photographers.
Family and child protection
Cover for spouses and children on school runs, beach days and ski days. Female close protection officers are available on request, for the family, the villa or a shopping afternoon.
Risk assessment and route planning in France.
Some briefs begin with a question rather than a booking: how exposed is this villa for the summer, which road should the car take, how exposed is the principal in festival week. In France that work is carried out by 1831 Prétorien, part of Algoz Group: threat and risk assessment, route planning, and residential security for villas, apartments, chalets and hotel floors. Read more in close protection consultancy in France, and read more about 1831 Prétorien in Our Circle.
What a bodyguard costs in France.
Close protection in France starts from EUR 950 per CNAPS-carded officer per 12-hour day, the base rate for Europe, in every French city we cover. The day includes the officer, the planning and venue advance for your itinerary, an NDA signed before your name is shared, and one Algoz contact throughout. The final rate depends on the profile, the season and the itinerary, and it is confirmed in writing before you commit, with no obligation.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Close protection officer, 12-hour day | From EUR 950 |
| Second officer, night or residence cover | Quoted in writing |
| Chauffeur and executive vehicle | Quoted in writing |
| Armoured vehicle | Quoted in writing |
| Fashion Week, festival and other peak dates | Quoted in writing |
Payment is by card or bank transfer; for card payments, the card processing fee is shown as its own line on the invoice. Further reading: what a bodyguard costs and our full close protection pricing guide.
How to book a bodyguard in France.
Send the brief. Dates, cities, party size, hotels or addresses and itinerary, through the enquiry form or on WhatsApp, +971 50 869 4209. It is confidential from the first message.
Receive a written proposal. A person reads every message and replies within 24 hours with the team, the final rate and, on request, the CNAPS authorisation of 1831 Prétorien and the officers’ card references.
Confirm. Once you accept, the officers are assigned and sign an NDA before your name is shared, and the advance work on routes, venues and arrivals begins.
We ask for at least seven days, and earlier is better. We will always look at shorter notice, but anything under 48 hours is an urgency case: additional fees, and never a guarantee.
Bodyguard, close protection or executive protection in France?
Bodyguard is the everyday word, close protection is the profession, and executive protection is the same discipline in a business setting: board meetings, site visits, trade shows and a chauffeured car. In French the officer is a garde du corps or an agent de protection physique des personnes, and the card is the same whichever word you use. American principals travelling in Europe have their own guide: executive protection in Europe for US clients. For the method behind every detail, read how close protection works.
"In France the right detail is the one the law allows and nobody notices."
Send the dates
Share your dates, cities, party size and itinerary, confidential from the first message. We ask for at least seven days, and a written proposal follows with the final rate. Under 48 hours is an urgency case: additional fees, and no guarantee.
EnquireAlgoz FZ-LLC (Trade License 5033995 | TRN 105119056700001) is licensed for Businessmen Services and Lifestyle Development Consultancy by RAKEZ. Operational services such as security, transportation and concierge are delivered through vetted, licensed specialist partners, selected, contracted and overseen by Algoz. All operational execution is performed exclusively by licensed third-party partners holding the necessary local permits (in France: CNAPS-authorised security companies whose operatives hold a carte professionnelle under the Code de la sécurité intérieure). We provide direct assistance and support in partnership with local regulated providers, complying with local laws. Clients are responsible for obtaining any required approvals. All activities comply with UAE laws and RAKEZ regulations.