Red Guard of Senegal
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| Red Guard Légion de la garde présidentielle | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Red Guard at Macky Sall Inauguration (2012). | |
| Active | 1891–present |
| Country |  France (1891-1960) Senegal (1960-present) |
| Branch | National Gendarmerie |
| Type | Cavalry |
| Role | Honour Guard, Security |
| Size | 120 |
| Part of | Security Legion of the Mobile Gendarmerie |
| Garrison/HQ | Dakar |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol |  |
The Red Guard of Senegal (French: Garde Rouge du Sénégal), officially known as the Presidential Guard Legion[1] (French: Légion de la garde présidentielle; LGP) is a unit of the Senegalese Gendarmerie that is responsible for presidential security. It also has ceremonial duties and assists in general policing. It is very similar in concept to the French Republican Guard, with which it is officially twinned. The Red Guard is the direct descendant of a French colonial Spahi detachment sent to Senegal in 1845.
Background and heritage
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French Spahis were required to range over vast areas of the Sahara desert and in 1845 a squadron was sent to Saint-Louis du Sénégal in response to tribal conflicts on the banks of the Senegal river. This detachment became a Senegalese-recruited branch of the Spahis. The Senegalese Spahis saw extensive active service in French West Africa and in Morocco over a period of 80 years. These cavalry squadrons were disbanded in 1928 as a cost-saving measure but provided the basis for a newly raised mounted gendarmerie.[2]
In the twentieth century the Senegalese spahis were known as the "Colonial Guard" (Garde coloniale) of the "Colonial Gendarmerie". In 1960, on independence, the Colonial Guard was renamed "Presidential Guard" (Garde présidentielle), while the Colonial Gendarmerie as a whole became the National Gendarmerie.
The Red Guard places great emphasis on its heritage from the French empire, and considers itself "guardian of the traditions of the squadrons which distinguished themselves on countless battlefields in black Africa and Morocco, in the service of France" ("la gardienne des traditions des escadrons qui s'illustrèrent sur d'innombrables champs de batailles, tant en Afrique Noire qu'au Maroc au nom de la France")[3]
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