Nice pic ! The guy is a Cuirassier, a heavy cavalryman of the french army up to the 1914 cataclysm where the guys dismounted from their horses to dig into earth and never charged with saber since 1870-71, like in the famous painting of Aimé Morot:
the last cavalry charge of napoleonic style of the French army (later, in Russia and even during Barbarossa, such charges would be conducted by the soviet army).
The tail is real horse hairs (crin de cheval in French). This has a special meaning to me one of my great grand fathers served during WWI as a Cuirassier. We have a photograph of him in his uniform like the guy in your photo. I have another where he is in the forest of Verdun, 1916.
The uniform is still worn by the Republican Guard of the French Republic, for major ceremonies and the national feast of 14th of july.
MATTHEW'S ISLAND 
Dear Matt, greetings from Paris !
Nice pic ! The guy is a Cuirassier, a heavy cavalryman of the french army up to the 1914 cataclysm where the guys dismounted from their horses to dig into earth and never charged with saber since 1870-71, like in the famous painting of Aimé Morot:
http://art.rmngp.fr/fr/library/artworks/aime-morot_rezonville-16-aout-1870-la-charge-des-cuirassiers_huile-sur-toile_1886
the last cavalry charge of napoleonic style of the French army (later, in Russia and even during Barbarossa, such charges would be conducted by the soviet army).
The tail is real horse hairs (crin de cheval in French). This has a special meaning to me one of my great grand fathers served during WWI as a Cuirassier. We have a photograph of him in his uniform like the guy in your photo. I have another where he is in the forest of Verdun, 1916.
The uniform is still worn by the Republican Guard of the French Republic, for major ceremonies and the national feast of 14th of july.
A few nice info here:
http://www.parismarais.com/en/visit-the-marais-district/events-in-the-marais/the-annual-paris-horseguards-show.html
Well, nice pic, really !
All the best, sincerely.
Franck.
Merci pour l’information, Franck! I actually thought he might be someone from Italy during the Fascist period – he has a darkly sinister air to him.