milice

Milice is a term used in several languages to denote armed civilian groups, often operating outside the regular military or police structure. Such groups can be formed to supplement a state's armed forces, to enforce government policy, or to carry out counterinsurgency, border control, or internal security duties during times of war, occupation, or political crisis. Their legal status varies widely: some are officially sanctioned auxiliaries, others are informal or semi-organized forces, and some act in defiance of formal authorities.

One of the best known examples is the Milice française, or the Milice, a paramilitary force created in 1943 by the Vichy regime in occupied France. Led by Joseph Darnand, it aligned with Nazi Germany and assisted in repressing resistance networks, rounding up and handing over Jews and political opponents, and conducting raids and interrogations. The Milice was dissolved after France's liberation in 1945, and many of its members were prosecuted or executed in the postwar period. Its collaboration with the occupiers left a lasting legacy in French memory and historiography.

Outside France, milice-type formations appear in various historical and linguistic contexts. In some languages the base term refers simply to a militia or volunteer armed group, while in others it denotes a state security or police force with paramilitary functions. Contemporary uses often distinguish between legitimate paramilitary units integrated into state security structures and irregular or extremist groups.