A gendarmerie or gendarmery (/dʒɛnˈdɑːrməri/ or /ʒɑːnˈdɑːrməri/) is a military component with jurisdiction in civil law enforcement. The term "gendarmerie" is derived from the medieval French expression gens d'armees, which translates to "armed men". In France and most Francophone nations, the gendarmerie is the branch of the armed forces responsible for internal security during wartime. This concept was introduced to several other Western European countries during the Napoleonic conquests. In the mid twentieth century, a number of former French mandates or colonial possessions such as Syria and the Republic of the Congo adopted a gendarmerie after independence.