Close Protection in France: Algoz and 1831 Prétorien

Close protection in France is the work of officers who each hold an individual CNAPS professional card, employed by a company the CNAPS has authorised for the physical protection of persons. For Algoz clients, that company is 1831 Prétorien, part of Algoz Group and based in Nice. Algoz plans, coordinates and answers for the whole brief; Prétorien’s officers protect the principal on the ground, unarmed, from EUR 950 per officer per 12-hour day.

That arrangement is deliberate. Close protection is a regulated profession in France, and the law is precise about who may do it. Rather than rely on a different provider for every French assignment, Algoz works through its own company in France: 1831 Prétorien, our first close protection company. The result for a client is simple. One brief, one written proposal, one team answering for the stay, and officers whose authorisation can be checked before anyone is told the principal’s name.

What is 1831 Prétorien, and how does it fit within Algoz Group?

1831 Prétorien is the close protection company of Algoz Group in France. It is a French company (SAS) based in Nice, authorised by the CNAPS, the national regulator of private security under the Ministry of the Interior, for exactly this work: the physical protection of persons. Its authorisation to operate is AUT-006-2124-09-09-20250998257.

The division of labour is clear. Algoz holds the relationship with the client, the planning and the accountability for the whole stay, wherever it leads. Prétorien supplies the officers in France and carries out the security consultancy that comes before them. Because both sit within the same group, the brief does not lose detail as it passes from one to the other, and the client never has to manage the hand-over. The company presents its own work at pretorien.com, and it appears alongside our other trusted names in Our Circle.

Who is allowed to provide close protection in France?

Two authorisations must both be in place. The company needs a CNAPS authorisation to operate, and every officer on the detail needs an individual CNAPS professional card, which requires the professional qualification set by article R612-24 of the Code de la sécurité intérieure. Without both, the work is not lawful, however experienced the person offering it.

A client is entitled to check. French law (article L612-15) allows you to ask for the professional card references of every officer on the service, and the provider must give them without delay. With Algoz, the authorisation of 1831 Prétorien and each officer’s card references come with the proposal, on request. A provider who hesitates over those numbers has answered the question for you.

Close protection in France starts with two numbers: the company’s authorisation and the officer’s card. Everything else is built on them.

What does close protection in France look like with Algoz and Prétorien?

Many briefs begin with a question rather than a booking: is this villa right for the summer, which way should the car go, how exposed is the principal this week. That consultancy is carried out by 1831 Prétorien, and it follows the same order every time.

• Threat and risk assessment: a sober reading of the principal’s exposure, the places and the calendar, written for the brief rather than taken from a template.
• Route planning: movements, timings, alternative routes and safe points, prepared before the first car leaves.
• Residential security: villas, apartments and hotel floors reviewed before arrival, including temporary residences taken for a season, a festival or a single event.
• Close protection on the ground: when the assessment calls for officers, Prétorien supplies them, each holding the individual CNAPS card.

The car is driven by a professional chauffeur by default. If a client prefers a security driver, a CNAPS-carded protection agent at the wheel, we arrange one and quote it in writing. Officers work in French and English, are bound by an NDA and are chosen for discretion as much as for experience. Female officers are available on request, for the family as much as for the principal.

Is close protection in France armed?

No. Every detail we arrange in France is unarmed, as is the rule for close protection in France, and low profile by design. Most are one CNAPS-carded officer, a chauffeured car and a plan. In practice that suits the work: protection in Paris or on the Riviera is mostly about routes, timing, crowds at arrivals and the security of the residence, and it is done best by people who are hardly noticed.

Where in France does 1831 Prétorien work?

Prétorien covers Paris, Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez and Courchevel, and within France the same team can follow a principal from city to city: from Paris to the Riviera to the Alps without a new provider at each stop. Nice is the company’s home, which matters on the Côte d’Azur, where arrivals at the airport, villas on the hills and evenings on the coast fill the same day. The detail for each city is set out on our pages for close protection across France and for a bodyguard in Nice.

How much does close protection in France cost, and how much notice is needed?

Close protection in France costs from EUR 950 per officer per 12-hour day with Algoz, the base rate for Europe, in every French city we cover. The day includes the officer, the planning and venue advance for the itinerary, and an NDA signed before the principal’s name is shared. The chauffeur and vehicle, a second officer, an armoured vehicle on request and peak dates are quoted in writing, to the brief.

We ask for at least seven days’ notice. That is the honest lead time for vetting the brief, assigning the right officer and doing the advance work. We always look at shorter notice, but anything under 48 hours is an urgency case: additional fees, and no guarantee. A person reads every message and replies within 24 hours, sooner for members and known clients.

Why work through our own company in France?

Because the moments that matter in protection happen at the joins: between the plan and the officer, between one city and the next, between the brief a client gave and the person standing beside them. With 1831 Prétorien inside Algoz Group, those joins belong to one organisation. The client deals with one name, the officers work from a plan they helped to write, and the accountability does not stop at a contract boundary. That is the relationship between Algoz and Prétorien in one sentence: we answer for the brief, and our own French company answers for the work on the ground.

Excellence, Discreetly Delivered.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who provides close protection in France for Algoz clients?

1831 Prétorien, part of Algoz Group, a close protection company based in Nice and authorised by the CNAPS for the physical protection of persons under authorisation AUT-006-2124-09-09-20250998257. Algoz plans, coordinates and answers for the brief as your single contact, and every officer on the detail holds the individual CNAPS professional card.

Is close protection in France armed?

No. Every detail Algoz arranges in France is unarmed, as is the rule for close protection in France, and low profile by design. Most assignments are one CNAPS-carded officer, a chauffeured car and a plan prepared in advance: routes, timings, venues and the residence, settled before the principal arrives.

How much does close protection in France cost?

Close protection in France costs from EUR 950 per officer per 12-hour day with Algoz, the base rate for Europe, in every French city we cover. The chauffeur and vehicle, a second officer, an armoured vehicle on request and peak dates such as festival weeks are quoted in writing, to the brief, before anything is confirmed.

How far ahead should close protection in France be booked?

At least seven days ahead, and earlier for festival weeks and the peak of summer. Seven days allows the brief to be vetted, the right officer to be assigned and the advance work to be done. Anything under 48 hours is an urgency case, with additional fees and no guarantee of cover.

How can I check that a close protection company in France is legal?

Ask for two things: the company’s CNAPS authorisation to operate, and the professional card references of every officer on the service. French law (article L612-15) obliges the provider to give them without delay. Algoz sends the authorisation of 1831 Prétorien and each officer’s card references with the proposal, on request.

Which cities in France does 1831 Prétorien cover?

Paris, Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez and Courchevel, and the same team can follow a principal from city to city within France. Officers work in French and English, female officers are available on request, and Algoz remains the single point of contact from the first brief to the last transfer.

1831 Prétorien (SAS), 19 avenue des Diables Bleus, 06300 Nice, France. CNAPS authorisation to operate: AUT-006-2124-09-09-20250998257, physical protection of persons. French law (articles L612-14 and L612-15 of the Code de la sécurité intérieure) requires this statement: « L’autorisation d’exercice ne confère aucune prérogative de puissance publique à l’entreprise ou aux personnes qui en bénéficient. » In English: the authorisation to operate confers no prerogative of public authority on the company or on the persons who benefit from it.