Editing Republican guard (section)


[[File:1st Infantry Republican Guard Bastille Day 2008.jpg|thumb|The [[French Republican Guard]].]]

A '''republican guard''', sometimes called a [[national guard]], is a state organization of a country (often a [[republic]], hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous with a [[Presidential Guard (disambiguation)|presidential guard]]. The term is derived from the original [[French Republican Guard|French Gendarmerie unit]]. Several other countries also have adopted the term and have active guard units. Republican Guards may be purely [[guard of honour|ceremonial]] units providing [[close protection]] to heads of states during functions and parades or be full time [[protective security units]].