What is the name given to the guards who always wait in front of the doors of French Palaces?

Question

i suppose the guard am looking for is a special definition for French Palaces only or maybe the name given to the special guards of the French Kings.But the certain thing here is these guards always stand in front of the doors of French Palaces.

Answer 1

The Garde républicaine (Republican Guard) is the ceremonial unit of the French Gendarmerie and is made up of two infantry units (including one motorcycle unit) and one cavalry unit.

Its missions include:

Guarding important public buildings in Paris such as the Élysée Palace, the residence of the Prime Minister of France, Hôtel Matignon, the Senate, the National Assembly, the Hall of Justice, and keeping public order in Paris.

Honor and security services for the highest national personalities and important foreign guests;

Support of other law enforcement forces (with intervention groups, or horseback patrols);

Staffing horseback patrol stations, particularly for the forests of the Île-de-France region;

Transporting and escorting urgent organ transplants.

The close physical protection of the President of France is entrusted to the GSPR (Groupe de Sécurité de la Présidence de la République), and the SPHP (Service de Protection des Hautes Personalités), neither are part of the Guard.

Answer 2

The earliest such detachment was the Swiss "Hundred Guard" (Cent-Garde) at the French court (1497 – 1830). This small force was complemented in 1567 by a Swiss Guard regiment.

Swiss Guards are Swiss mercenary soldiers who have served as bodyguards, ceremonial guards, and palace guards at foreign European courts from the late 15th century until the present day (in the form of the Papal Swiss Guard). They have generally had a high reputation for discipline and loyalty to their employers. Some of these units have also served as fighting troops in the field. There were also regular Swiss mercenary regiments serving as line troops in various armies, notably those of France, Spain and Naples until the 19th century who were not household or guard units.

There were two different corps of Swiss mercenaries performing guard duties for the Kings of France: the Hundred Swiss (Cent Suisses), serving within the Palace as essentially bodyguards and ceremonial troops, and the Swiss Guards (Gardes Suisses), guarding the entrances and outer perimeter. In addition the Gardes suisses served in the field as a fighting regiment in times of war.

The Hundred Swiss were created in 1496 by King Charles VIII. Their main role was the protection of the King indoor, what was called the garde du dedans du Louvre (the Louvre indoor guard), but in the earlier part of their history they accompanied the King on campaign. In the Battle of Pavia (1525) the Hundred Swiss of King Francis I were slain before Francis was captured by the Spanish. They shared the indoor guard with the King's Bodyguards (Gardes du Corps), which were Frenchmen.

Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Guard