Directorate-General for External Security facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
General Directorate for External Security

Direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure
Partout où nécessité fait loi ("Wherever necessity makes law")
Agency overview
Formed	2 April 1982; 43 years ago (1982-04-02)
Preceding agency	External Documentation and Counter-Espionage Service
Jurisdiction	Government of France
Headquarters	141 Boulevard Mortier, Paris XX, France 48°52′28″N 2°24′24″E / 48.8744°N 2.4067°E / 48.8744; 2.4067
Employees	7000
Annual budget	€880 Million (2021)
Minister responsible	Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces
Agency executive	Bernard Emié, Director
Parent agency	Ministry of Armed Forces

The General Directorate for External Security (French: Direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure, DGSE) is France's main foreign intelligence agency. It's like the British MI6 or the American CIA. The DGSE was created on April 2, 1982. Its job is to protect France's national security. It does this by gathering information, carrying out secret operations, and stopping foreign spies. It also works to protect France's economic interests abroad. The DGSE's main office is in Paris, France.

The DGSE works under the French Ministry of Armed Forces. It also works closely with the DGSI. The DGSI is France's agency for security inside the country. Like most spy agencies, details about the DGSE's work are kept very secret.

The DGSE follows a special system called LEDA.

• L stands for loyalty (loyauté).
• E stands for expectations (exigence).
• D stands for discretion (discrétion).
• A stands for adaptation (adaptabilité).

These ideas are very important for how the DGSE works. They guide its actions and how it works with its agents and partners.

History of the DGSE

How the DGSE Started

The DGSE's story goes back to November 27, 1943. That's when a central foreign intelligence agency was first created. It was called the DGSS. Later, its name changed to DGER in 1944.

After some problems, the agency was reformed. It was renamed the SDECE on December 28, 1945. The SDECE brought together many different intelligence groups. One famous group was the Deuxième Bureau, created by the military around 1871. Another was the BRCA, formed during WWII.

On April 2, 1982, the SDECE was changed again. The new French government renamed it the DGSE. Before this, the SDECE had been involved in a scandal. This led to it being placed under the control of the French Ministry of Defence. French foreign intelligence has usually been overseen by the military since 1871.

In 1992, many of the DGSE's defense tasks were moved. They went to a new agency called the Military Intelligence Directorate (DRM). The DRM was created to fill intelligence gaps. These gaps were noticed during the 1991 Gulf War.

Challenges During the Cold War

The SDECE and DGSE have faced many challenges. In the 1950s, some believed the Soviet KGB had spies inside the SDECE. There were also times of strong competition between French and U.S. intelligence. In the early 1990s, a French officer revealed something big. He said the DGSE had spied on American businesses in France.

A major scandal happened in 1985. This was the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior. DGSE agents sank the ship, which belonged to Greenpeace. They had placed bombs to make people leave the ship. Sadly, a photographer named Fernando Pereira died. He went back inside to save his cameras and drowned.

The French President, François Mitterrand, had ordered this operation. New Zealand was very angry because its country's rules were broken. The Netherlands was also upset because the person who died was Dutch. This event is still remembered in New Zealand.

How the DGSE is Organized

Please note: This section describes the DGSE until 2022. The DGSE was reorganized in 2022 and now has a different structure.

Main Departments

The DGSE has several important departments:

• Directorate of Administration: This handles the agency's daily management.
• Directorate of Strategy: This plans the DGSE's long-term goals.
• Directorate of Intelligence: This gathers information.
  • Political intelligence service: Collects information about politics.
  • Security intelligence service: Focuses on security threats.
• Technical Directorate: This department handles electronic spying and special devices.
• Directorate of Operations: This plans and carries out secret missions.
  • Action Division: This group is in charge of secret operations.

Technical Directorate (Electronic Spying)

The DGSE works with the DRM (Directorate of Military Intelligence). Together, they are responsible for electronic spying in other countries. This means they listen to communications from far away. The French military has always been interested in intercepting messages.

In the 1880s, the Post Office and the Army worked together. They created a military telegraphy unit. In 1888, the military started its first service for intercepting and decoding messages. This was in Paris.

In the 1970s, the SDECE got better at breaking codes. They bought a supercomputer to help. In the 1980s, the DGSE invested a lot in listening to satellite communications. They built several listening stations. The department for this was called the Direction Technique (Technical Directorate).

In the 1990s, the DGSE noticed a problem. More communication was happening through undersea cables, not satellites. So, they built a huge underground center. This center, called the CTTI, was for processing information. It was later renamed the PNCD. It has a very large Faraday cage. This protects against electronic leaks and attacks. The DGSE also works with French companies like Orange S.A. and Alcatel-Lucent.

Around 2007–2008, France decided to invest more in tapping undersea cables. This big program cost a lot of money. It also led to hiring many new specialists. Today, most world trade uses fiber-optic cables. The Technical Directorate focuses on financial and economic information.

The DGSE and DRM also work with Germany's BND intelligence agency. They share a listening station in the United Arab Emirates. The DGSE also partners with the National Intelligence Agency (South Africa). Today, France's ability to intercept communications is considered one of the best in the world.

Action Division

The Action Division (Division Action) plans and carries out secret operations. This includes missions behind enemy lines. They also test the security of important places. For example, they check nuclear power plants and military bases. Their main office is at the fort of Noisy-le-Sec.

The DGSE works closely with the Special Operations Command (COS). Many of the Action Division's members come from special military regiments. These include the 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment and the 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment.

Buildings and Locations

Headquarters, boulevard Mortier

The DGSE's main office is at 141 Boulevard Mortier in Paris. It's often called La piscine ("the swimming pool"). This is because of a swimming pool nearby.

There was a plan to move the headquarters to a new fort. This project was called "Fort 2000." But it was too expensive and had other problems. So, the plan was canceled. Instead, the DGSE got more offices near its current location. They also started a new plan called "Privatization of the Services." This means the DGSE creates many private companies. These companies act as cover for secret intelligence groups. This helps them avoid building large, expensive, and public facilities.

Size and Importance

• In 2007, the DGSE had 4,620 agents. In 1999, it had 2,700 civilians and 1,300 military officers.
• The DGSE also works with many voluntary helpers. These are often French citizens. They are called "honorable correspondant" (honourable correspondent) or "HC." Now they are often called "contact"'.
• A "source" is anyone, French or foreign, who helps the agency. They might know they are helping, or they might not.
• A DGSE agent sent to spy abroad is called an "operative." The DGSE calls them "agent volant" (flying agent). A female operative is sometimes called a "hirondelle" (swallow).
• All these helpers are sometimes called "capteurs" (sensors).
• The Ministry of Armed Forces directly oversees the DGSE.

Budget

The DGSE's budget is public. The French parliament votes on it. It's usually around €500 million. The Prime Minister also gives special funds for certain operations. How these special funds are spent is kept secret.

Here are some past budgets:

• 1991: FRF 0.9 billion
• 1992: FRF 1 billion
• 1997: FRF 1.36 billion
• 1998: FRF 1.29 billion
• 2007: €450 million, plus €36 million in special funds.
• 2009: €543.8 million, plus €48.9 million in special funds.

A former director, Claude Silberzahn, said the budget is divided like this:

• 25% for military intelligence (information about armies).
• 25% for economic intelligence (information about money and business).
• 50% for diplomatic intelligence (information about foreign relations).

Directors of the DGSE

• Pierre Marion (1981 – 1982)
• Adm. Pierre Lacoste (1982 – 1985)
• Gen. René Imbot (1985 – 1987)
• Gen. François Mermet (1987 – 1989)
• Claude Silberzahn (1989 – 1993)
• Jacques Dewatre (1993 – 1999)
• Jean-Claude Cousseran (1999 – 2002)
• Pierre Brochand (2002 – 2008)
• Erard Corbin de Mangoux (2008 – 2013)
• Bernard Bajolet (2013 – 2017)
• Jean-Pierre Palasset (interim) (2017)
• Bernard Émié (2017 – present)

The DGSE Logo

The DGSE got its current logo on July 18, 2012. The bird of prey in the logo shows the DGSE's power and global reach. It also represents how effective the agency is. France is shown as a safe place in the logo. The lines represent the networks the DGSE uses.

What the DGSE Does

Types of Operations

The DGSE has many different tasks:

• Gathering Intelligence:
  • HUMINT: This means gathering information from people. The DGSE uses a network of agents and contacts. Many of these people are not directly paid by the DGSE. They might help out of patriotism. Some might not even know they are helping a spy agency.
  • SIGINT: This is gathering information from electronic signals. This includes listening to communications (COMINT) and other electronic signals (ELINT). The DGSE does this from France and from stations overseas. These stations are called Electronic Intelligence Centers. Since the 1980s, the DGSE has focused a lot on intercepting communications abroad. This network is sometimes called Frenchelon.
  • Space imagery analysis: This involves studying pictures taken from space. This helps the DGSE get information from images.
• Special operations: These are secret missions. They can include missions behind enemy lines. They also help people escape from dangerous places. Sometimes they involve sabotage. The DGSE works with the Special Operations Command (COS) for these missions.
• Counterintelligence: This means stopping foreign spies. The DGSE does this both in France and abroad. In France, this is officially the job of the DGSI. But the DGSE also works to stop foreign interference. This is part of its "active measures" to protect France.

Known Operations

1970s

• In Operation Barracuda (1979), the DGSE helped change the government in the Central African Republic. They helped set up a government friendly to France.
• From the 1970s to the 1980s, the DGSE placed agents in big U.S. companies. This helped them get economic information. Some of this information was shared with French companies.

1980s

• The DGSE worked with another agency to use a source called "Farewell". This helped uncover a huge spy network. It showed how the Soviet Union was getting technology from the West.
• The DGSE used a network called "Nicobar." This helped France sell many Mirage 2000 fighter jets to India. It also helped get information about Soviet T-72 tanks.
• Operation Satanique (1985) was a mission to stop Greenpeace protests. Greenpeace was protesting French nuclear testing in the Pacific. DGSE agents sank the Rainbow Warrior ship in Auckland, New Zealand. A photographer on board died. Two DGSE agents were caught and pleaded guilty. This caused big problems between France and New Zealand.

1990s

• During the Rwandan Civil War, the DGSE shared some misleading information. This information appeared in French newspapers. It made the conflict seem like a new foreign invasion. This helped prepare for more French involvement in the war.
• From 1989 to 1997, the DGSE helped Chinese activists. These activists were involved in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The DGSE helped them escape to Western countries. This was part of "Operation Yellowbird."
• During the Kosovo War, the DGSE helped train the KLA. Some DGSE officers even fought alongside KLA members.
• In 2006, reports said DGSE agents had secretly entered Afghan training camps in the 1990s. One spy later wrote a book about his time inside Al-Qaeda.

2000s

• A DGSE general leads the Alliance Base. This is a joint center in Paris to fight terrorism. It works with the CIA and other agencies.
• In 2003, the DGSE was involved in Opération 14 juillet. This was a failed mission to rescue Íngrid Betancourt Pulecio from rebels in Colombia.
• In 2004, the DGSE helped free two French journalists. They were held hostage for 124 days in Iraq.
• DGSE staff also helped free French journalist Florence Aubenas in 2005. She was held hostage for five months in Iraq.
• The DGSE was said to be involved in catching two suspected killers. They had killed four French tourists in Mauritania in 2006.
• In 2006, a French newspaper reported a DGSE claim. It said Osama bin Laden had died in Pakistan. But this report was later denied by French and Saudi officials.
• From 2007 to 2010, the DGSE tracked about 120 Al-Qaeda terrorists. This was in the FATA region of Pakistan.
• In June 2009, the DGSE found evidence. Two passengers on Air France Flight 447 were linked to terrorist groups. The plane crashed, killing 228 people.

2010s

• In November 2010, three DGSE agents had a failed operation. They tried to secretly enter a hotel room in Toulouse. This led to problems for their unit.
• In 2010–2011, the DGSE trained agents from Bahrain's National Security. This agency was trying to control protests in Bahrain.
• In March 2011, the DGSE sent agents to support rebels in Libya. These agents gathered information and made contact with fighting groups.
• In January 2013, DGSE agents tried to rescue one of their own. He was held hostage. The rescue failed, and the hostage was killed. Two DGSE operators also died.
• In 2014, the DGSE worked with the AIVD (Dutch intelligence). They secretly placed cameras in a Russian cyber center.
• In 2017, the DGSE concluded that Russia tried to influence France's 2017 presidential elections. They did this by using social media.
• From 2017 to 2019, the Action Division killed three major terrorist leaders. These leaders were from the JNIM group.
• In 2018–2019, the DGSE worked with other agencies. They tracked and identified 15 members of Unit 29155. This group was using Chamonix as a base for secret operations in Europe.
• In 2020, the DGSE helped provide information to the COS. This led to an operation to kill Abdelmalek Droukdel.

Notable DGSE Officers

See also

• General Directorate for Internal Security
• List of intelligence agencies of France

Images for kids

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  SIGINT installations in the Domme commune.