From a distance, the Mercedes looked the part. Dark blue bodywork, retroreflective strips across the bonnet, white and red lights fitted into the grille: the vehicle cruising the roads of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez had borrowed most of the visual codes of the French gendarmerie.
But not quite all of them.
On the side of the car, written in plain sight: «urgence assistance routière». A unit that does not exist within the gendarmerie. Three words. That was enough to bring the whole thing down.
What makes the story genuinely strange is how long it went on. According to press reports, this car had been driving through the Var for several years without being stopped. Plenty of people had apparently noticed it over time, some even recognised it online once the story broke. In high season, on roads clogged with traffic, one more flashing light barely registers. The village has seen stranger things.
The gendarmes eventually pulled the Mercedes over and questioned its driver in La Croix-Valmer, just a few kilometres from Saint-Tropez. The military reminded the public on social media that there must be no possible confusion on the road. The driver has been summoned to appear before a court for impersonating an official vehicle.
Louis de Funès would have laughed, then handed out the fine.
