The Triumphs and Failures of France’s Foreign Intel Service

The DGSE, or Directorate General for External Security, is France's foreign intelligence service. It's found inside the Ministry of Defense but reports to the president. It was established under that name in 1982, learning the hard way, through a string of high-profile blunders, how to conduct espionage. The service is responsible for all sources of intelligence and has benefited from a popular TV show about its inner workings. Drawing on documents never before available, Damien Van Puyvelde, the author of the book The DGSE: A Concise History of France's Foreign Intelligence Service, traces the agency's history from its early failures to its sweeping reforms and modern-day successes.

Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories:

https://sashaingber.substack.com/

For more information about the International Spy Museum, visit:

https://www.spymuseum.org/

And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by email at spycast@spymuseum.org.

This show is brought to you by N2K Networks, Goat Rodeo, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. This episode was produced by Flora Warshaw and the team at Goat Rodeo. At the International Spy Museum, Mike Mincey and Memphis Vaughan III are our video editors. Emily Rens is our graphic designer. Joshua Troemel runs our SPY social media. Amanda Ohlke is our Director of Adult Education and Mira Cohen is the Vice President of Programs.