France: A Look At The New Schuberth Helmets For The Police |
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File under Helmets France Uniformed
Author: Mike Werner
Location: Normandy, France
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There's been quite a lot of heated articles and debates concerning the helmets used by the French police. Even so much so that a part of them went on "strike" (link  ), since their helmets were totally inadequate.
However, the French National Police and the Gendarmerie (which is a different authority), have contracted German motorcycle helmet manufacturer Schuberth to deliver 7,000 police version C3 helmets (not the C3 PRO which was introduced later). This means that over the next 4 years all the old helmets are being phased out, and replaced by the newer, but heavily modified, Schuberth C3 .
The reason that the roll out is slow, is because the police version is not the same as the public one. They have been so extensively modified that they are required to pass a new homologation and type approval.
The biggest part of the modifications involve the communication equipment. The Schuberth communication option delivered to the public is not the same as what is used by the cops. And to accommodate this comms equipment, the helmet's interior had to be modified.
The modifications aren't cheap. Using the volume discount applied to Schuberth motorcycle helmets, each helmet comes in at €500 per helmet, and the modifications add another €500. So each helmet costs around €1,000.
Interesting to see that the current "Buy French" motto from the government does not apply to the LEO. There are plenty of French motorcycle helmet manufacturers out there. So now we know where our speeding fines go to ..... but honestly, I prefer that the cops have good helmets. Remember that here in France, motorcycle cops are respected.
Via: L'equipement
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