The Belgian Revolution of 1830 associates the people to regime change. The Civic Guard, created at this juncture, further evolves within a bourgeois context, with furthermore unequal capacity in local government across the country. We study the genesis of the triad "army - gendarmerie - civic guard" and its evolution in the Belle Époque. The civic guard's end after World War One and the effective introduction of conscription create a new relationship between citizens and soldiers.