French irregular light infantry and saboteurs, first employed in the 1870 Franco-Prussian war. They were subsequently widely feared and used as justification for acts of violence against civilians in occupied territory by the Germans in World War I, although they were no longer a significant presence by that time.
Some members of the French Resistance during World War II later adopted this name, but they were unrelated to the original Francs-Tireurs of the 19th century.
