Your account has been succesfully created.
00 days
00 hours
00 mins
00 secs
Special offer: -20%20% OFF your subscription
Consult our offers
EN FR
Scroll through edition

France
Emmanuel Macron, Pavel Durov and the DGSE: the secret story of France's failed attempt to turn Telegram founder

By Pierre Gastineau
Reading time 5 min
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, 23 February 2016.
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, 23 February 2016. © Reuters

Durov's arrest in France last month caused a frenzy of media and diplomatic activity, but aside from the judicial aspect, the full story had, until now, not been revealed. Intelligence Online spoke to sources who have worked on the case, and they outline a failed operation to get him to switch allegiance.

Read also

20% OFF your subscription

Special offer: Only 0d and 9h to take advantage of it

Consult our offers

This offer is open to all new subscribers and runs until 10/07/2026

Headlines

BlueBird Tech's Chuyka RF detector deployed by GUR operators in Donbass to detect the presence of FPV drones.
Spotlight | Baltic States, Denmark, Sweden, Ukraine BlueBird Tech, the Ukrainian start-up filling diplomatic pouches out of Kyiv China In PLA purges, Xi Jinping 'spares' three of his close associates
In the latest PLA purges, General Liu Zhenli (left) and General Zhang Youxia were removed from their posts without being imprisoned.
Australia, France Five years after AUKUS, Canberra extends cautious hand to French defence France, Israel Israel's national day celebration in Paris well attended despite claims of diplomatic isolation Russia Friendly and 'unfriendly' master spies meet in Moscow for major security forum
Foreign delegations at the 14th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues in Moscow, on 28 May 2026.
Spy Way of Life | France The Suzanne Lenglen stadium in Paris, a training ground for future Chinese spies?
The Suzanne Lenglen sports complex near the French Armed Forces General Staff headquarters in western Paris.

Related topics to this article

20% OFF your subscription

Special offer: Only 0d and 9h to take advantage of it

Consult our offers

This offer is open to all new subscribers and runs until 10/07/2026

Headlines

BlueBird Tech's Chuyka RF detector deployed by GUR operators in Donbass to detect the presence of FPV drones.
Spotlight | Baltic States, Denmark, Sweden, Ukraine BlueBird Tech, the Ukrainian start-up filling diplomatic pouches out of Kyiv China In PLA purges, Xi Jinping 'spares' three of his close associates
In the latest PLA purges, General Liu Zhenli (left) and General Zhang Youxia were removed from their posts without being imprisoned.
Australia, France Five years after AUKUS, Canberra extends cautious hand to French defence France, Israel Israel's national day celebration in Paris well attended despite claims of diplomatic isolation Russia Friendly and 'unfriendly' master spies meet in Moscow for major security forum
Foreign delegations at the 14th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues in Moscow, on 28 May 2026.
Spy Way of Life | France The Suzanne Lenglen stadium in Paris, a training ground for future Chinese spies?
The Suzanne Lenglen sports complex near the French Armed Forces General Staff headquarters in western Paris.

Related topics to this article

Sign up for real-time alerts and be notified of new editions!  

Once registered, you will be notified by a short message on your computer or mobile phone as soon as a new edition of our publication or an alert is published. Stay informed anytime, anywhere!