Paragraph 1: Officials and agents authorised to investigate forestry offences

The agents of the State services responsible for forests, the agents on duty at the Office national des forêts as well as those of the public establishment of the Domaine national de Chambord, commissioned by virtue of their competence in forestry matters and sworn for this purpose, field wardens and municipal police officers exercise their judicial police powers in accordance with the Chapter I of Title VI of Book I…

The persons mentioned in Article 22 may be requested by the public prosecutor, investigating judge and judicial police officers to assist them.

In addition to the powers mentioned in Article 22 of this code and to article L. 521-1 of the Code de la sécurité intérieure, gardes champêtres (rural rangers) are responsible for investigating and recording offences and contraventions against property located in the communes for which they are sworn in, under the same conditions as those set out for forestry offences in articles L. 161-14 to L. 161-18 of the Forestry…

The gardes champêtres send their reports and minutes simultaneously to the mayor and, through the intermediary of the territorially competent national police or gendarmerie judicial police officers, to the public prosecutor. This dispatch to the addressee must take place within five days at the latest, including the day on which they observed the fact, which is the subject of their minutes.