Ten days before Paris Fashion Week, the French capital hosted a memorable ‘spy week'. Ukrainians, Russians, Israelis, Syrians, Turks, Americans: the city welcomed the largest gathering of spymasters in recent memory. Luxury hotels had to accommodate different foreign security delegations, some of which were at each other's throats, in a ballet skilfully coordinated by the French authorities.
It was a well-kept secret, unknown to many diplomats at the French foreign ministry, until Kirill Dmitriev's presence in Paris was revealed on 8 January. President Vladimir Putin's special representative for negotiations on Ukraine, one of the few Kremlin officials who is not subject to Western sanctions, held high-level meetings at the US embassy residence in Paris's chic 8th arrondissement. Among those staying there were Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and son of the US ambassador
