English-speaking French officers could soon patrol streets of Paris

Tourists caught up in a spot of bother in France are set to get their own dedicated police force in a move to rejuvenate the country’s terror-torn image.

Visitors to Paris have long complained that the capital’s officers do not speak English.

France`s Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is set to announce the creation of a new ‘brigade’ that will be specifically tasked with helping “travellers in need”.

As a result the special force will reportedly have the capability to take down complaints in English and 15 other languages.

The officers will operate in “the main shopping and cultural areas” of the city, including areas like the Louvre museum and the big department stores.

The force is expected to be “highly mobile” and able to record statements on the go, rather than having to take tourists to police stations to give a formal account.

Authorities are hoping a multi-lingual police force will encourage tourists to return to France after terror fears have scared many away. Attacks that rocked Paris and Nice in the last year have left hundreds dead.

“In total, in 2016, hotel owners in Île-de-France welcomed 1.5 million fewer French and international tourists compared to 2015,” the Regional Tourism Committee reported last month.

There have been repeated calls for such a police ‘brigade’, notably from the Alliance 46.2 firm, which represents groups that rely on income from tourists.

It wrote an open letter in October calling for more police support at tourist zones in Paris.

The tourist group called for a “specific organisation in Paris and its suburbs that would allow police to keep an eye on the petty criminals who poison the lives of tourists,” it said.

Such a move should not be considered “out of the ordinary”, Alliance 46.2 says, given that there are 66 million people living in France but 84 million tourists each year.

And the group – whose members include Accor Hotels, Disneyland Paris, SNCF, and Galeries Lafayette – warns that now is the time to act, predicting a five per cent drop in tourist figures in 2017 and the potential loss of 30,000 jobs.

“The image of France has deeply deteriorated,” it said.