Porkchop. The gendarms ARE military. And up to 400 more are on their way (numbers vary on outlet reporting).

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-updates...-htmlstory.html

To St Barts and St Martin:
More than 1,100 French emergency services — gendarmes, police, civil security, soldiers and health personnel — have been dispatched to the two islands, where an emergency electricity network has been set up to keep hospitals working.

Police forces have been kept busy trying to prevent the pillaging of shops and private properties. An overnight curfew was imposed between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. in anticipation of José, which is expected to pass north of the islands Saturday.