The private security market - France

1.2 The global market

Private security systems are booming in the world since a few years. Indeed, more and more countries are opening up to private security, to the detriment of public order forces. Today, about forty countries would have more private security agents than law enforcement officers.

Private security employees and police officers World, ****, in millions of employees Source: ****

The differential is particularly large in India, where private security is nearly * times larger than public security. China is also well positioned in the sector, followed by the US and South Africa. Many other countries favor private security. This is notably the case in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. France, on the other hand, is recording the opposite proportions, with **% more police officers than private security agents in ****.

India, at the forefront of the market:

According to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the private security sector has registered an annual growth of **% between **** and ****. This sector is now the second most important sector in the country after agriculture, in terms of employment. In ****, nearly * million people were employed in the sector, a figure that should reach ** million by the end of ****. Such a large number of private security companies (***), which ...

1.3 State of the national private security market

In **** in France, according to the site Making our world safer, the security market was estimated at *.* billion euros, of which **% concerned private security and **% security systems. Thus, the national private security market was valued at *.* billion euros. According to the index of the turnover of the sector provided by the INSEE, one can thus establish the turnover of the private security in ****. We obtain the following figure: *.* billion euros for the year ****.

Turnover index of the private security sector France, **** - ****, in index Source: ****

We note that the turnover index increased sharply in ****, from *** to ***.* in one year. This increase in private security is directly related to the events that struck France in ****. Indeed, the attacks of January and November **** had direct consequences in terms of security.

2.1 Demand and drivers

the CNAPS (***) establishes a list of the different demands that can be made to the private security sector:

Human surveillance and guarding of goods, security of people in buildings and transportation. Surveillance by electronic security and video-protection systems. Surveillance and dog guarding. Airport and port security. Transport and surveillance of goods (***) with a value of at least ***,*** euros. Protection of people and ships at sea.

In France, private clients represent approximately **% of demand, compared to only **% of demand from the public sector [***]. The two largest demand segments are guarding and cybersecurity (***).

Businesses and private security

Corporate spending on private security is divided into two major areas:

Building security; which primarily involves security guards and security guard services. In retail stores, security guards are present at the entrance to check bags or prevent theft. In offices, it can be people checking the security of the premises (***) and the security of the people via a filtering at the entrance. Computer security; which includes anti-intrusion software and the protection of sensitive data.

The State and private security

Private security companies have a mixed image with public clients. Numerous shortcomings were noted during the organization of Euro ****, notably concerning the supervision of fan zones (***) [***].

However, ...

2.2 The security issue at the heart of people's concerns

New alarms now allow households to have a security system at home, without having to rely on a service provider. Somfy alarms are connected and meet the needs of French people to be able to monitor their homes at any time.

But security issues are multiple and the majority of French people are still worried, particularly because of the memory of the attacks. **% of French people say they are often or sometimes worried, * points more than in ****.

Do you feel worried about your physical safety or that of your property? France, ****, in Source: ****

**% of French people feel that the actions taken by the government are not effective enough to fight insecurity; and **% feel that the internal situation has deteriorated. The need for security is therefore very important, as much from the point of view of individuals as from the point of view of companies, increasingly threatened by cyber attacks.

2.3 2024 Olympics: a demand for increased security

The organization of the **** Olympic Games in France is mobilizing many sectors. Among them, the security sector is at the center of attention. ** *** private security agents would be necessary for the organization of the Olympic Games.

This big demand is difficult to meet and the memory of the London chaos worries the authorities. Indeed, in ****, G*S had to provide many security agents but finally could not fulfill its contract. At the time, G*S was one of the largest security companies in the world, with a workforce of ***,*** in *** countries. Supposed to provide **,*** of the **,*** security guards needed to ensure the control of spectators and the surveillance of the sites, the company had finally provided only *,***, forcing the country to deploy **,*** military personnel, some of whom were poorly trained and far too young.

Thus, for several months, France has been multiplying initiatives to facilitate recruitment for the Rugby World Cup in September **** and the Olympic Games in ****:

Implementation of a specific professional card to simplify training. This card, valid until September **, ****, will allow individuals who wish to do so to carry out surveillance and guarding duties at sporting, recreational, cultural and economic events involving more than *** people. It will be ...

2.4 Cyber threat boosts demand

The cyber threat is one of the most important reasons for the development of electronic security. In ****, *** intrusions were proven, compared to **** in ****. Despite a slight decrease, the risk remains high and organizations must equip themselves to prevent attacks. A large majority of attacks are still motivated by financial gain, more than espionage. Nevertheless, the victims are changing over time. While in ****, more than half of the companies targeted by ransomware compromises were SMEs / VSEs / SMIs, this figure has dropped to **% in ****. The trend today seems to disadvantage local authorities and public health institutions, which are increasingly victims of attacks.

Breakdown of the types of victims of ransomware compromises France, ****, as a % of total Source: ****

Different incidents can strike companies. In the digital enterprise sector (***).

Distribution of incident types affecting NSEs France, ****, in % Source: ****

Companies and organizations are therefore increasingly demanding electronic security services to protect their data. Thus, many of them are considering an increase in spending on cybersecurity, a sector that had reached nearly ** billion euros in revenue by ****[***]. The most employed solutions are the following:

DLP (***); Data encryption; Data auditing tools; Protection tools.

In France, these expenses should reach *.* billion euros by **** according to an EDC study reported ...

3.1 Market organization and dynamics

In ****, approximately ***,*** people were employed in the private security sector, including security guards (***) [***].

Distribution of the workforce in the sector France, ****, in % Source: ****

The sector is dominated by medium-sized and large companies(***). Microenterprises still account for **% of the market.

Breakdown of security revenues by company size France, ****, % Source: ****

Large companies are generally present in several segments of private security (***). However, it is rare for these companies to be present in several fields at the same time; they are highly specialized.

3.2 Production

Production costs in the private security sector have increased slightly at an annual rate of *.*% over the past ** years [***].

evolution of production costs for private security France, **** - ****, base *** in **** Source: ****

The main costs in the sector are related to the personnel employed (***), nearly **% of whom are full-time. The average hourly wage of employees in the sector was **.* euros before the revaluation.

According to Eurostat data, the physical investments of private security companies in **** represented a sum of ***.* million euros, or about *% of their turnover on average.

As a result, the margins achieved by security companies are quite high, with rates that can reach over **%. This is related to the low need to invest in research and development and the low cost of employees (***) [***].

The rate of added value of private security companies is **.*% on average and subcontracting represents **.*% of the sector's activity.

3.3 Tensions on the labour force in the sector

The private security market is highly concentrated in the Paris region. In fact, the region accounts for more than **% of the sector's workforce.

Evolution of the workforce registered under code **.**Z France, **** - ****, in thousands of people Source: ****

Despite a significant increase in the number of employees in the sector, there is still a shortage of manpower, especially in the run-up to the major sporting events of **** and ****. This is due to a lack of attractiveness of the sector, mainly due to * aspects:

A too low remuneration, with salaries rarely exceeding the SMIC. Nevertheless, following negotiations, the whole prevention - security branch has benefited from a *.*% salary increase in ****. Major difficulties in entering the sector, particularly as a result of the law of ** May ****(***). The arduousness of the work; the latter being among the professions least conducive to psychological well-being [***].

Under these conditions, the sector has to deal with a very high turnover. In ****, the turnover rate reached ***% [***]. This reflects high instability and necessarily high training costs.

4.1 Private security actually includes a multitude of activities

Under the words of private security hides a multitude of different activities which each have their own particularity. Some of them focus on the protection of goods, others on the protection of people.

Security agents - the security of people

Security guards are those who provide security for people (***). Bodyguards are also included in this activity. BSL Security, one of the leaders in the sector, offers an exhaustive overview of the services, related to this type of security, available on the market:

Security agent ; Fire security agent ; Pre-flight security agent ; Mobile security agent ; Screening security agent; Security dog officer; Luxury security agent.

Other private security activities rely on the use of personnel rather than technology :

Interventions on alarm ; Cash in transit; Safety and security training; Audit and consulting.

Electronic security

All activities that use electronic systems to carry out their mission can be grouped in the "electronic security" category. Prosegur, another industry leader, offers an overview of electronic security activities:

Surveillance Cameras; Access Controls; Anti-intrusion systems; Fire safety; Security intercom and public address systems; Geolocation.

4.2 Prices vary greatly depending on the type of training

There is no fixed price in the field of private security. These depend on the type of service but also on the technical and logistic difficulty. The companies that currently market a security drone offer are freer to set their prices than their competitors who evolve on the market of alarms for individuals.

It is possible to give an overview of some prices for certain services :

Guarding and security agents: depending on the agent's specialty, which determines his coefficient, and on the annual package that determines the number of hours the guard must perform in the year, he will be paid between ** and ** euros HT per hour. Other service providers, such as Groupe SGP, offer the services of their most specialized agents at approximately ** euros (***) per hour. Alarm systems for individuals: the price of an alarm varies greatly, depending on whether it has a transmitter or not, whether it is accompanied by a TV or video surveillance or not. This price goes from *** to *,*** euros depending on the range. [***]

Supplements can increase this price, such as a siren, a remote control alarm, etc. whose cost is usually several tens of euros.

4.3 The necessary adaptation to new technologies

After having found growth relays between **** and **** (***), with a turnover that increased by **%, private security companies are experiencing a slowdown in their activity [***].

The **** Olympic Games in Paris will therefore represent a major challenge for the sector, which will have to be able to provide the security guards in demand, despite tensions related to low wages.

Companies in the sector must also adapt to new technologies: drones, automatic gates and biometric recognition. Thus, the Protec group has developed with DPS the Drone *S solution, which reacts to alerts to go to the scene of an offence for example [***].

HID Global, another private security company, has strengthened its biometric recognition offer with a new fingerprint reader, which captures both the surface and the sub-surface of the skin [***].

Actuia explains that cybersecurity is also starting to add artificial intelligence to its systems, which can combat threats in two different ways:

First, through Machine Learning, which learns to detect threats and adopt appropriate behavior ; But also via Deep Learning, which relies on processing more data.

Security applications and the development of FR - Alert

More and more companies are positioning themselves in the data protection segment. Indeed, more and more risky actions occur via ...

5.1 The role of the CNAPS

The CNAPS (***) regulates the activities of private security companies. This organization has three missions:

Administrative police: issuing, suspending or withdrawing authorizations, approvals and professional cards Disciplinary: on-site and documentary control of private security companies, and initiation of disciplinary action if necessary Advice and assistance to the profession: answering questions from the various actors and stakeholders in the private security sector.

The CNAPS also sets a certain number of rules that private security companies must respect. As long as they have not obtained the organization's authorizations, they cannot canvass, contract or begin services. [***]

Every year, *,*** companies are checked to verify their compliance with this, but also with the rules of article L. ***-* of the code of internal security: the activities of private security and research, physical protection and private protection of ships at sea are incompatible with any other type of activity.

Clients of private security companies must also respect a number of rules:

Contact a company that the CNAPS has authorized; Check the approval of the company's managers in the KBIS; Ask for a copy of the CNAPS professional cards of the security guards provided; Verify that the company pays a contribution of *.*% of the billing;

In ****, the CNAPS issued ...

5.2 Specific rules apply for each activity

The website of the Ministry of the Interior gathers all the regulatory texts related to private security in France. Each activity (***) is regulated. In some cases the rules overlap and group several activities.

Decree No. ****-**** of October **, ****, however, radically modified the rules previously in force (***). [***] The main points concerning private security are as follows:

The actors of private security must show dignity, sobriety, professional attitude, respect, loyalty and confidentiality. A private security actor may not resort to violence except in the case of self-defense. If an amicable resolution is impossible, he must call upon the police. No sign or communication must create confusion by letting suppose that the actors of private security are part of a public service, in particular of police. Their relationship with these public authorities must be loyal and transparent.

They can be armed during the exercise of their function, with weapons of category B and D (***). Training must be followed to make this possible. [***]

The law of May **, **** has also put in place various provisions concerning global security, including

Provisions relating to municipal police forces; Provisions relating to the private security sector; Details concerning video protection and image capture; Provisions relating to the internal security forces; Information ...

5.3 Tenders, applications and limitations

The file written by France Marchés on calls for tenders and the site Marché Public provide information on the legislation on calls for tenders.

Formalized procedure

A call for tenders is a consultation launched by a public purchaser, which he can or must use. The formalized procedures procedures are so called because above a certain threshold of the market estimate, a call for a call for tender is mandatory and a whole codified process is engaged. The thresholds are the following:

*.** million euros for works contracts; ***,*** euros for supply and service contracts of the State; ***,*** for supply and service contracts of local authorities.

After receiving the bids, the community must engage in a negotiation procedure (***), followed by a competitive dialogue phase.

The offer can be open - the candidate company must submit two files, the first containing its skills and qualities and the second containing the offer - or restricted - in which case the candidate company is invited to submit its offer only after its skills and qualities file has been selected.

Then, depending on the type of procedure, the deadlines for submitting the files vary more or less around one month.

Adapted procedure

When the estimated value ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Securitas
• Prosegur
• ONET Groupe
• Sotel Groupe
• Securalliance
• Atraltech
• VPS Group
• G4S Secure Solutions
• G4S
• Brink's France
• DPSA sécurité
• Anaveo
• Octopus sécurité (Luxant Groupe)
• Homiris
• Stella Groupe
• Samsic Sécurité
• Securiteam
• Loomis
• Euro Protection Surveillance
• AGIR Sécurité
• Protectim Security Group
• Nexecur
• Eryma
• Torann - France
• S3M Sécurité
• France Gardiennage
• Mondial protection
• Byblos Human Security
• IMA Protect
• VPSITEX
• Lynx Sécurité
• CPS Sécurité
• Sécurité Protection
• Aquila
• Apen Sécurité Privée
• Artemis Security
• Procedo Groupe
• SGP Groupe
• Luxant Groupe
• Actor Sécurité
• Alligator Security
• Protectas
• EPS
• Scutum
• Bellator Sécurité
• Thoonsen Trading
• Passman
• Axon Taser
• Doortal
• Fichet Groupe
• Sector Alarm
• Genetec
• Linkview
• SERIS Security
• Séris (Amarante)
• Sécurity One