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This study conducted in local rural and peri-urban police squads ( brigades territoriales de gendarmerie) questions the articulation between gender and social status in a profession at the heart of gender power structures, as a law enforcement profession, as well as a model for social advancement expectations among the working-classes. The analysis of alternative constructions of the profession in relation to the common manly model shows the critical importance of school qualifications. Manliness and cultural capital make up two focal points within the social space of the police noncommissioner officers (gendarmes) where class- and gender-based power relations are negotiated.