Spymaster | France
Former French senator Yannick Vaugrenard: a pioneer of intelligence service oversight

France, United Kingdom
France's intelligence watchdog looks to Britain to contend with human rights challenges

Blind spots remain in the oversight of intelligence techniques in France. European Court of Human Rights rulings are pending that may single Paris out for criticism. The country's CNCTR supervisory body believes a legislative review is needed, and that the British model is worth considering.

France
French MPs slam special funds budget as miscalculated

There is a recurring theme in the French special funds verification committee's detailed 2021 report: those funds' budgets are systematically underestimated.

The Intelligence Gazette
DPR and fiscal intelligence, La France Insoumise and the CNCTR

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community.

FranceParliamentary intelligence delegation still queries new fiscal intelligence unit

FranceParliament rejects La France Insoumise support of intelligence techniques surveillance unit

France
France's parliamentary intelligence delegation laments missing classified documents

The parliamentary intelligence delegation has highlighted limitations on its mission to monitor and evaluate French intelligence policy, including heavily redacted notes and missing reports, and is calling for better treatment.

France
Senate hits gender parity problem over nominations to intelligence oversight commission

Following the French senatorial elections in September, the French Senate has had to renew its representatives on two intelligence service oversight bodies. Yet the Socialist group has hit a gender parity problem over its nominations to one of them.

France
DGSE launches legal action against second ex-spy over memoir

After several weeks' hesitation, the French external intelligence service has taken legal action against two former agents, whom it accuses of breaching official defence secrets in the books they have written about their experiences.

France, NATO
French senate elections to shake up NATO Parliamentary Assembly presidency

September's elections for members of the upper house of France's parliament will have a knock-on effect at the top of the Atlantic Alliance's forum for MPs.

Spotlight | France
France's DGSE thwarts parliamentary bid to impose tighter control over interceptions

France's interceptions watchdog, the CNCTR, will not have closer scrutiny of audio and video recordings made by the intelligence services, a planned move that has been axed from the country's military appropriations bill.