This was in 2008. Yeah I'm totally ignorant on the type of guns so they probably were just standard service rifles. I frequently saw them traveling in groups of three and having dogs sniff me while I rode the train. Again, it was just a bit of a culture shock I'm not saying anything negative about it.

Your comparison of US Policemen and French soldiers isn't fair. I've known a couple people from France of Algerian descent, you can imagine their opinion of French police isn't too dissimilar of yours about US police.