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After DGSE, Martin Briens extends influence at French foreign ministry

LogoSubscribers only By Antoine Izambard
5 min read Lire en français
Martin Briens, secretary general of the French foreign ministry, on 30 October 2025 in Florence, whilst he was still France’s ambassador to Italy.
Martin Briens, secretary general of the French foreign ministry, on 30 October 2025 in Florence, whilst he was still France’s ambassador to Italy. © Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images Europe via AFP

A specialist in strategic affairs who previously worked for France's DGSE foreign intelligence service, Martin Briens was promoted to secretary general at the foreign ministry in January.

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Headlines

The Rovers Return pub in Aqaba, Jordan.
Spy Way of Life | Jordan Aqaba's Rovers Return, the English pub for sailors operating on the Red Sea France Sahar: French domestic intelligence's TikTok tool
Demonstration in Lyon, France, on 17 October 2026. The French authorities have come under criticism for their monitoring of extremist groups on social media following lootings on the fringes of the protests.
United States Washington looks to bolster maritime surveillance for Pacific allies
US soldiers in Koror, Republic of Palau, during Operation Christmas Drop, on 7 December 2020.
Cambodia, France, Francophonie In Phnom Penh, Francophonie crisis encroaches on Macron's state visit
President Emmanuel Macron and the secretary general of the International Organisation of La Francophonie Louise Mushikiwabo, at the 19th Francophonie Summit in Villers-Cotterêts, France, on 4 October 2024.
Albania Rome gains friend in a high place at Albanian intelligence service
The former head of Albania's intelligence agency SHISH, Vlora Hyseni, on 24 September 2026. Her successor was appointed on 12 November.

Related topics to this article

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