A backdrop worthy of the visit. On the sidelines of Monaco’s National Day on Tuesday 19th November, a detachment of 60 members of France’s Republican Guard, under the command of General Charles-Antoine Thomas and alongside Colonel Marie-Audrey Leheup, the first woman to head the Republican Guard’s cavalry regiment, called into Yacht Club de Monaco for the first time in its history.

The Supreme Commandant of Monaco’s Military Force, Colonel Tony Varo was present with ten representatives from the Prince of Monaco’s Palace Guards and the Fire Brigade. It was a highly symbolic meeting to forge a bridge between military traditions and the maritime spirit, in the presence of France’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Monaco, H.E. Mr Jean d’Haussonville.

The Republican Guard’s visit embodied a meeting of French military heritage and the elegance and naval etiquette of maritime customs. It also served to reinforce cultural ties between France and the Principality, while celebrating shared values of excellence and tradition.

Founded under the Second Empire, the Republican Guard is a symbolic unit of the French National Gendarmerie with an unparalleled level of expertise.  Its ranks include horsemen, musicians and security experts to carry out a wide range of missions from providing guards of honour at official state ceremonies to performing special security duties. Organised into three main regiments, it is renowned for its rigour and discipline, testimony to French military prestige.

On every trip outside the French capital, the Republican Guard forges new ties and this call to the Yacht Club de Monaco is no exception.