Based on a review of contemporary treatises and recent studies, it analyzes the social and physical limits within which the State exercised its policing functions. A growing body of evidence indicates that the traditional depiction of the State exerting a pervasive and untrusive power in society through its police must be rethought. The "police" of the old regime followed precedents that were already quite ancient, and innovations in its practice often came in response to pressure from society itself. This article distinguishes certain boundaries that limited the State's control of society and gave shape to its task. This article draws attention to other sources of order in society and argues that the policing function in early modern France can be better understood in terms of a dichotomy between public and private places and persons. 29 notes, 67 references. (Author abstract)