Royal Watch

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The Royal Watch, in French guet royal, was a French police unit founded in December 1254 by King Louis IX. It was officially merged with the "Lieutenancy General of Police" in 1750, to form the Paris Guard. The name "Royal Watch" was still used unofficially by the Paris Guard until the French Revolution, when many members of the Paris Guard joined the new National Guard.

The Royal Watch were also known to Parisians as "the archers".