The final act of a French comedy icon and his legendary police series

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Released in 1982, Le Gendarme et les Gendarmettes marked the end of an era for French cinema. As the sixth and final installment of the beloved Gendarme series, it served as the swan song for both director Jean Girault and the legendary lead actor Louis de Funès.

The film introduces a dynamic shift in the long-running series by bringing four young female police officers into the fold. These recruits arrive to learn from the established masters, only to demonstrate that they are significantly more capable of handling the challenges they face than their seasoned teachers. The plot takes a turn for the dramatic when these new officers are abducted one by one, forcing the older generation of gendarmes to confront their own limitations in a comedic fashion.

Beyond the central narrative, the film is noted for its clever nods to cinematic history and stunt work. It features the return of France Rumilly as the iconic stunt-driving nun, Soeur Clotilde. In a memorable sequence, she pilots a Citroën 2CV in a manner that echoes the motorcycle stunts from the 1968 film Le gendarme se marie. This scene includes a specific comedic gag where the vehicle splits in two, with the driver continuing to operate the front-wheel-drive section.

This stunt sequence holds a unique place in film history, arriving one year after a Citroën 2CV appeared in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. Furthermore, the specific gag of the car breaking in half was later mirrored in the 1985 James Bond production A View to a Kill, where the protagonist performs a similar feat in a Renault 11. These connections highlight the film's playful engagement with the broader landscape of action-comedy tropes, cementing its legacy as a final, spirited entry in a series that began in 1964.

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