I nibble a croissant while sipping an espresso. I’m in a French café and I wince as the waiter hands me the bill for 8 euro, or roughly $12. I’m here for the biennial Milipol show which, at the risk of redundancy, occurs every two years.

American gun companies are well represented at this European conflux of military and police—Mili-Pol, get it? I'm here to chat with the Americans to find out what brings them to Europe, but first I have to get past the security guards at the entrance. It’s not a long line, but I have to wait.

Inside, it’s a mixed crowd. There are dark-suited businessmen along with gold-braided generals and blue-uniformed commissioners along with a lot of Paris policeman.

By far the most dominant product category is surveillance. There are long-range cameras, short-range cameras, robotic cameras, hovering cameras, hidden cameras and vehicular cameras. One company sells an interface for a police car that allows it to tap into cameras on every city buses.

If I were to sum up this show in four words, they would be these: Big Brother is here.

The American conglomerate L3 has a section of its spacious booth (monitored by its cameras) set aside for “Electronic Warfare.” I think to myself—is there any other kind?

There are drones as small as a shoebox. One company has a four-rotor heli-camera that runs on batteries and can hover noiselessly overheard while relaying real-time images back to its controller.

Right next door to the L3 booth is another American company—DELL. Why am I not surprised? Michael Dell is selling more computers here than Smith & Wesson is guns.

A company called SIM (I didn’t get what it stands for) proclaims in large bright letters that it specializes in “encrypted CDFM video transmissions” as well as “photonic surveillance.” I have no idea what either of these are, but I can’t help but think they’re not good if you’re of a mind to hide.

There are companies that sell nothing but tracking and location technology while others specialize in thermal imaging. One stand is there to take orders for “biometric imprints” which, I suppose, is so that the company that sells a long-range camera can scan your cornea.

The eyes don’t have it all. There’s a company selling voice identification and “audio forensic equipment,” which is why bad guys should never use a cell phone.

The big boys are all here. Raytheon. General Dynamics. Thales. EADS. These companies have marketing budgets bigger than the GDP of many countries. I notice they have attractive young ladies serving croissants and espresso to their booth guests.

Eight euro’s worth, I think to myself.

I approach one of the bright-eyed young girls, eyeing their espresso machine. “Excuse me, I’m interested in your latest surveillance system,” I say… in my best fake Russian accent.

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