PHOTO: Fake gendarmerie car seen in France - with Dutch number plates
Citro毛n Xantia had undergone total renovation and had 鈥楪ENDARMERIE鈥� written on its side but had kept its original plates
The vehicle does not match any official police design, but would likely fool the average driver
Gendarmerie de la Savoie / Facebook
French gendarmes came across an unlikely discovery on a recent patrol 鈥� a car transformed to look like a classic police vehicle but with Dutch number plates.
Police from the Saint-Sorlin-d鈥橝rves brigade in Savoie spotted the Citro毛n Xantia parked in a small village during their rounds.
The car, which is registered in the Netherlands, has the words 鈥楪ENDARMERIE鈥� in capital letters on its side as well as red and white chevrons on the bonnet.
It does not match any design of a current or former gendarmerie vehicle however, and seems more like an homage to the authorities than an attempt to genuinely imitate them.
In addition, it clearly displays the name of a Dutch company that specialises in renovating Citro毛n vehicles.
You can see more photos of the car below:
Imitating police is illegal
The police who found the car were initially confused, however they joked about their finding on Savoie Gendarme鈥檚 social media page.
鈥淲e appreciate our fans,鈥� they said in a post showing the vehicle.
They reminded people however that driving a vehicle made to look like 鈥� or that could be confused with 鈥� an official police vehicle is illegal in France.
This can come with a 鈧�7,500 fine and up to six months in prison.
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