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Chauffeur on its own
A selected chauffeur and an agreed vehicle for a day, a stay or a recurring need, when transport is the requirement and protection is not.
Praetorian / Chauffeurs
Your day, already considered.
An executive chauffeur service, available on its own or alongside a close protection officer. The chauffeur, the vehicle and the itinerary are agreed around your day: most often a Mercedes S Class or V Class by the day, or another vehicle depending on the country.
Discuss your requirements ↗01 · Executive chauffeur
A chauffeur who knows your day.
An executive chauffeur is not a limousine booking with a firmer handshake. The chauffeur is chosen, briefed and given a programme prepared in advance.
An executive chauffeur, known in France as a grande remise chauffeur, drives you to a programme prepared in advance: routes, pick up and drop off points chosen with care, timings shared with everyone involved. When close protection is also booked, the chauffeur and the protection officer work to the same plan, each in their own role.
A chauffeur or a bodyguard: two separate professions
Searches often mention a security chauffeur, a security driver or a chauffeur bodyguard. Legally, that combination does not exist. Carrying passengers and providing security are two separate activities, with their own licences and their own insurance, in France as in the United Kingdom.
So you have three options: a chauffeur, a protection officer, or a chauffeur and a protection officer working together. We help you decide which your situation calls for. Often, a well chosen chauffeur on their own is the right and proportionate answer.
Why not a standard chauffeur service?
The chauffeur market is large and crowded with ride hailing and limousine companies. They sell a car and a journey. We start from the person being driven: who they are, where they go, who might take an interest in their movements and what should stay private. The car comes after that.
02 · Vehicle and chauffeur
Mercedes S Class, V Class or another vehicle.
The vehicle is agreed for each request and adapted to the country. Most assignments use a Mercedes S Class or V Class, booked by the day, but other vehicles are available.
| Vehicle | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Mercedes S Class | One principal or a couple: airport transfers, business meetings, dinners and evenings. |
| Mercedes V Class | Families, small delegations, luggage, or a protection officer travelling in the same vehicle. |
| Other vehicles | An E Class, larger vans or a coach for a group, and on some assignments a deliberately ordinary vehicle. Agreed case by case. |
We do not present a fleet as our own and we do not promise a model in advance. The vehicle follows the situation. On some sites a premium saloon would attract exactly the attention you want to avoid, and a more ordinary vehicle is the better choice.
The grande remise standard
Our chauffeurs work to the standards of what the French call the grande remise: the executive chauffeur tradition that existed long before ride hailing, with dark saloons, discreet presentation and a driver who knows the city and keeps quiet about who sits in the back.
Chauffeurs are selected for each destination and work to the same standards. Availability is confirmed after the first exchange.
Sometimes, no car at all
Part of the advice is saying when a vehicle is not needed. If a programme is short, local and low profile, we will say so rather than add a car and a day rate to the proposal.
03 · Standalone or combined
On its own, or alongside close protection.
Chauffeur with close protection
The chauffeur works with the protection officer or team: shared routes, agreed arrival points and one plan for the whole day.
Airport and private aviation
Arrivals met at the terminal or at a private aviation terminal, luggage handled, and the first journey prepared before you land.
Families and children
School runs, outings and family travel with a chauffeur who learns the household's routines and keeps them private.
Events and evenings
Arrivals and departures at dinners, galas and shows, where the kerb is often the most exposed moment of the evening.
Groups and delegations
Several vehicles coordinated for a delegation or an event, with one point of contact for every movement.
04 · How an assignment runs
From the first message to the last drop off.
The same discipline applies to a single transfer and to a week long programme.
- Your request. A few lines are enough: dates, cities, the number of passengers and whether protection is also required.
- A short exchange. We ask what matters: who is travelling, the programme, luggage and any sensitivity about privacy.
- A proportionate proposal. Chauffeur, vehicle and, where relevant, protection, sized to the situation. We may recommend less than you expected.
- Preparation. Routes, timings, pick up and waiting points are prepared and, when protection is involved, shared with the protection team.
- The day itself. The chauffeur adapts to changes in the programme, which are the rule rather than the exception.
- Afterwards. Your feedback is collected and what we learned is kept for your next visit.
What we need to understand
- Your dates, arrival and departure points and the stops planned during the visit.
- The people travelling, children included, and their luggage.
- Whether transport is needed on its own or alongside protection.
- Anything that should stay confidential, starting with names.
Read more about how resources are sized in our method.
05 · Questions
Chauffeurs: your questions.
Short answers to what families, executives and their offices ask first. Anything else can be raised in confidence.
An executive chauffeur drives you to a programme prepared in advance: routes, timings, pick up and waiting points. At Praetorian the service is available on its own or alongside close protection.
No. Legally, the combination does not exist: carrying passengers and providing security are separate activities, with their own licences and insurance. If you need both, you book a chauffeur and a protection officer who work together.
Most assignments use a Mercedes S Class or a Mercedes V Class, booked by the day. Other vehicles, including larger vans or a coach for a group, can be arranged. The vehicle is agreed for each request and we do not promise a particular model in advance.
Yes. The chauffeur service is a service in its own right. Many requests concern transport only, and we will tell you when we think protection is not needed.
In France and abroad. Each destination is assessed when you send your request.
The cost depends on the vehicle, the number of days, the hours and whether protection is added. Praetorian does not publish a rate: a proposal is prepared after a first exchange about your programme.
As early as you can, especially during busy periods in a city. Availability and timing are assessed for each request after a first exchange. We do not confirm a chauffeur for a given hour before that conversation.
Related services, profiles and destinations.
06 · Contact
Tell us what you need. In confidence.
A few lines are enough to start. We come back to you with questions or a proposal.