French intelligence services

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What is the DGSE?

The General Directorate of External Security (DGSE) is the main French foreign intelligence service. Its structure is inherited from Central Intelligence and Action Office (BCRA), which was the information service of Charles de Gaulle. Following multiple transformations, the 2 avril 1982, the DGSE will see the light of day.

The DGSE is made up of the intelligence department, the administration direction, the technical direction, the operations department, the strategy direction, but also other structures placed under the authority of the general manager.

Its mission is to search for secret information abroad, ensuring defense as well as national security. She works in collaboration with local authorities and participate in their decision-making. It helps maintain a presence where diplomatic channels can no longer be used. The DGSE obtains information thanks to the numerous agents on the ground who are at the center of global problems, such as terrorism. It also obtains data through cooperation with other services, French and foreign. The DGSE has a capacity for obstruction and clandestine action.

What organization is the DGSE?

What are the missions of the DGSE?

The DGSE’s mission is to search abroad for secret information, involving defense and national security such as counterterrorism and crisis intelligence. It conducts research, collects and uses data relating to geopolitical and strategic issues as well as those related to threats and risks likely to affect the life of the nation. It contributes to the knowledge and anticipation of these issues as well as the prevention and hindrance of these risks and threats.

The DGSE intervenes in all areas where the threat is present and fights against all forms offoreign interference, the terrorism, the criminality, the organized delinquency and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

It is also present abroad and applies clandestine research methods there with the greatest discretion. The secret is heavily guarded and guaranteed by the security of the DGSE.

How does the DGSE work?

What developments for the DGSE?

The DGSE brings together 79 job families in 22 areas of expertise. The jobs carried out within the DGSE are many and varied. It has more than 7000 employees from all fields of work including the military.

During a visit on in the premises of Boulevard Mortier, President Emmanuel Macron announces the relocation of the DGSE at Fort Neuf de Vincennes, located in Paris in the 12 arrondissement. The works will begin in , and the transfer should be completed in . The cost of the operation is expected to amount to 1.3 billion euros. The new site will host platforms shared with other intelligence agencies, such as the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM), la Directorate of Defense Intelligence and Security (DRSD) and the Cyber ​​Defense Command (COMCYBER).