Direction du Renseignement Militaire

The Intelligence Gazette
CIA, Georgia's GIS, Hamas finance, DGSE operations

Appointments, reforms and key issues: every Monday, we report on events both big and small that matter in the global intelligence community. This week we home in on the US, Georgia, Palestine, Turkey and France.

United StatesCIA's spies experience housing crisis in Langley

GeorgiaGovernment increases oversight of GIS' international dealings

Palestine/TurkeyHamas still receiving funds from Turkey

FranceDGSE operations department poised to get new chief

France
Secretive military intelligence unit Paros targets Islamic militants for elimination

By staffing it, the French military intelligence directorate (DRM) has exposed the existence of its top-secret unit Paros. This unit is responsible for locating high-value targets for France's special forces to kill, as the country moves towards a two-pronged intelligence-special forces approach in the Sahel.

France
France's highest administrative jurisdiction will handle the case of disowned intelligence official

The legal battle between France's domestic intelligence agency, the DGSI, and one of its former officers, Eric M., suspected of being too close to the US intelligence community, should soon come to a close before the Council of State.

Spotlight | Ukraine
Allied tensions mount over supply of weapons to Ukraine

As fighting in the Donbass intensifies, Kyiv is negotiating with the West to obtain heavier weapons. It is especially keen to obtain airborne weaponry, but while the US, followed by most European countries, has started to respond, Paris is reluctant to follow.

France
Military procurement agency's cyber branch strides into French anti-disinformation apparatus

Among its hundreds of new cyber recruits, the information control department of the French military procurement agency, the DGA, will create an information warfare taskforce to give the ministry of armed forces the technical means to achieve its goals.

France
French Army commandos await new chief

The surprise resignation of Eric Vidaud as head of French military intelligence, the DRM, in March is having all sorts of consequences on appointments in the French special forces.

France
The sensitive question of intelligence gathering by French defence attachés

Defence attachés, who are sent by the French armed forces ministry to France's embassies, are rarely instructed to carry out intelligence missions, particularly in allied countries offering strong cooperation or export potential. This does not, however, prevent these military diplomats from making use of their intelligence backgrounds or opting to carry out some intelligence work all the same.

The Intelligence Gazette
Afghan planes in Tashkent, Russian military engineers decorated, DNI

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, we serve up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community. This week, we go from Paris to Tashkent, Washington, Brussels and Kabul.

Uzbekistan/AfghanistanTashkent refuses to return Afghan planes to Kabul.

RussiaMoscow decorates military engineers.

FranceMarc Burg lures more top spies to his degree course.

ParisSenators call for a law on facial recognition.

United StatesDNI tasked again to tackle China's support to Russia.

EuropeEuropol, future watchdog of foreign investment in the EU.

France, Iraq
CAE Aviation deploys new spy plane in Erbil

As large numbers of Islamic State fighters continue to hide out in Northern Iraq, a new IRS plane from CAE Aviation, a supplier to French intelligence, began monitoring the area on 14 April.

France
Vidaud's surprise exit from military intelligence turns the armed forces upside down

The abrupt departure on 30 March of the Director of Military Intelligence (DRM) Eric Vidaud triggered a power struggle within the armed forces for the future positions.

France
Special forces prepare Toujouse handover amid tense context

In the runup to its 30th anniversary, the special operations command is facing an unprecedented level of intervention. General Michel Delpit, who is set to take over from Bertrand Toujouse as its head, will have to face several challenges.

France
Safran still pushing for its optronic surveillance ball to feature in French ISR plans

The French defence group Safran, seeking to benefit from the stepping up of French intelligence programmes, hopes that its Euroflir 410 optronic pod can triumph over its US rival Wescam.

France
French armed forces general staff prioritises information warfare capacities

With information warfare a huge component of the Ukrainian conflict and France fast losing ground in the Sahel, the French armed forces general staff is determined to regain its footing in the field.

Spotlight | France
Russia-Ukraine war prompts France to patch over deep intelligence gaps

The Ukraine conflict has forced France, like Germany, to rethink its 2023 defence budget in order to funnel more funds into special operations and intelligence equipment. Each agency and branch of the army is compiling its list of urgent requests.