The armored truck Renault BRI is used by elite units of the Paris police for very specific tasks such as bank robberies, hostage taking, the madmen, or searches at risk.

The Brigades de Recherche et d’Intervention (Research and Intervention Brigades, BRI), often called “Anti-Gang Brigades”, are elite police specials units of the French Ministry of the Interior (Ministère de l’Intérieur).

They are specialised in very serious cases of robbery, or hostage kidnappings for the BRI of Paris (BRI-PP). For hostage kidnapping, the BRI-PP is supported by specialised units of the Préfecture de police and is nicknamed BRI-BAC (“Brigade Anti-Commando” Counter-commando Brigade) or “BRI en formation BAC” . They typically attempt to catch offenders in the act after monitoring their activities for some time.

The units have very modern equipment and are also in charge of collecting and archiving data about banditry.