Retired Andorran Officer Uncovers Police Origins Predating 1931

Josep Giribet, a retired Andorran police officer, has uncovered the little-known origins of the principality's public order forces, predating the commonly cited establishment of the police in 1931.

Speaking at the second conference of the Canillo History Days, held this week at Cal Federico, Giribet detailed how the first armed body, the Andorran Civic Guard, emerged in 1881 amid unrest following a revolution sparked partly by the bishop's ban on casinos and gambling houses. On 14 July that year, the permanent delegates created the force, placed under the authority of veyers and batlles. It comprised a captain and six to 12 men, stationed in the basement of Casa de la Vall with a mandatory night shift. Equipped with Remington rifles and bayonets—the captain also carried a revolver and sword—they wore a regulated uniform of a blue tunic with red cuffs, a cartridge belt, and a barretina adorned with a cockade in national colours gifted by Napoleon III.

Budget constraints led to its dissolution in 1884. Earlier attempts dated to 1866, with further efforts in 1888, 1892, 1913, 1916, and 1929, often tied to controversies over concessions for mines, thermal waters, roads, hydroelectric projects, and even a railway.

The 1931 force, prompted by riots during a strike by 300 to 600 Fhasa hydroelectric workers, proved more enduring—at first. Fhasa, frustrated by the General Council's failure to fund a police service as agreed, issued a three-day ultimatum on 25 March to restore "order, security, and freedom of work." Veyers responded with a decree on 11 July, forming a six-agent unit under Captain Secundí Tomàs, a former episcopal batlle who took oath on 24 July, backed by a volunteer reserve force. Dissolved in 1934, it faced immediate tests including the 1932 Fhasa strike—the fourth in three years—the occupation of the General Council, a defiant general assembly, the veyers' dismissal of Most Honorable council members, the arrival of French gendarmes under Baulard who disarmed the local police on 19 August 1933, and subsequent elections yielding a compliant council.

Giribet presented the oldest known photograph of the inaugural 1931 group, taken outside Casa de la Vall by an anonymous photographer. It shows the seven agents—Miquel Bondancia, Joan Boronat, Josep Duedra, Valentí Mora, Joan Riberyagua, and Josep Ros—with Tomàs at centre, in uniforms likely inherited from Spanish carabineers. Initial arms included single-shot Gras 1874 rifles and Chamelot-Delvigne 1873 revolvers from French army surplus; modern Winchester rifles and 9mm Star semi-automatic pistols arrived in 1982. Training came from French gendarme Paul Larrieu, who arrived in March 1932 and stayed until 1945.

Giribet's account extends to the turbulent 1943 summer, encompassing the Gastons murders, the execution of Pere Areny, and the resignation of Pere Canturri. The retired officer, who served from 1980 to 2009, plans further research.