French Vichy GMR Groupes Mobiles de Réserve Ile de France Unit Badge

Very nice and rare unit badge. of the Vichy GMR. Made in gilt brass and enamel, the badge measures 38mm in height. Steel pin fastener on reverse attached with a plate. The badge was worn on the GMR tunic on the right breast pocket and represented the region the unit operated in.

The Groupes mobiles de réserve (transl. mobile reserve groups), often referred to as GMR, were paramilitary gendarmerie units created by the Vichy regime during WWII. Their development was the special task of René Bousquet, Vichy director-general of the French national police. From autumn 1943 onwards, the GMR took part in offensives launched by the Vichy government against maquis formations, with the consent of the Germans. The Maquis were rural guerrilla bands of French and Belgian Resistance fighters, called maquisards, during World War II.