Information wars

The Agencies' Gazette
More funds for French disinformation fight, US counterterrorism appointment, a ex-DGSE spy at Paris police HQ

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

FranceForeign ministry pours funds into disinformation fight

United StatesNo surprise in State Department counterterrorist appointment

FrancePatrice Faure, another DGSE spy at the Paris Police Prefecture

Russia
EU to sanction rector of Russia's HSE university, a former bastion of academic freedom

The name of the rector of one of Russia's most prestigious universities has been blacklisted in the European Union's latest package sanctions against Moscow.

Belarus, China
Beijing ramps up soft power push in Belarusian universities

Academic collaboration between Minsk and Beijing is going from strength to strength. With exchange programmes proving insufficient to persuade Belarusian students to embrace the Chinese worldview, Belarus's universities are now working upstream to shape students' opinions in line with the Communist Party narrative.

France
French foreign ministry gets new champion against disinformation

Intelligence Online understands that Édouard Dambrine, currently political adviser to France's permanent representation to the United Nations in New York, will in September become the French foreign ministry's new champion against disinformation.

France
French cyber agency Viginum's head of ops moves to private sector

After around three years in France's fledgling agency dedicated to combating foreign disinformation, Viginum's head of operations is set to join the Finnish disinformation-fighting company Check First.

China, Europe, United States
Washington's China hawks target Beijing's influence in Europe

In contrast to the weakening of US capabilities to counter foreign interference and Donald Trump's U-turns on Beijing, Congress is pushing the executive branch to share more intelligence with European allies to thwart Chinese efforts.