corruption in the French overseas territories, drawing on the cas of Guadeloupe, a
French overseas territory marked by social, political and economical marginalization
and post-colonial tensions. Based on ethnographic research conducted within local law
enforcement institutions, it highlights a striking paradox: while the frequency of
observed misconduct was similar to that found in mainland France, police leaders
unanimously framed such deviance as exceptionally prevalent and problematic in the
French West Indies. This perception, often explained by social sciences as a result of
the structural constraints of police work, was instead attributed by police chiefs to the
territory’s post-colonial context and internal institutional dynamics. The article
investigates those chiefs—whose viewpoints were marked by strong social
homogeneity—construct and disseminate racialized narratives of “Guadeloupean
deviance,” as a form of deviance perceived as both problematic and functional in
sustaining the legitimacy of the French state’s presence in the territory. Building on the
tradition of French police sociology, this study addresses a largely unexplored area:
corruption and misconduct in the overseas territories. It reveals how colonial legacies
continue to shape internal policing practices and institutional representations, with
enduring effects on power relations, racialized authority, and the maintenance of the
French state in its former colonies.