President Emmanuel Macron was fiercely criticised for continuing to talk to Putin despite the military build-up.
“When Russia unleashed its war on Ukraine, the DGSE had the same technical information as its American partners,” insisted Mr Emié. “The problem is then how you exploit and analyse that information and the way in which you think an event will or won’t take place,” he said.
“The CIA made the totally respectable decision to divulge the intelligence it had with the aim of dissuading the Russians from launching their operation. This is a policy that we don’t pursue.
“But in terms of intelligence, we had the same level of knowledge. In plain terms, nobody was party to someone within President Putin’s entourage with access to his personal way of thinking.”
Shot at ‘Anglo-Saxons’
In one jab at “Anglo-Saxons”, the documentary cites agents who claim they provided photographic evidence that disproves American claims that the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was building missiles that could carry weapons of mass destruction. The agent said the Americans mixed up images of rolled-up carpets in a factory and petrol pipeline tubing with missiles.
Anglo-Saxons also tended to “throw more money at seeking to make contacts”, while the French rely more heavily on ulterior motives.
The documentary includes interviews with agents explaining why they joined, and sequences of them learning to handle firearms and self-defence.
New agents are sent out into Paris to try to make new contacts. One has to chat with an Irish rugby fan and get his email address with an offer of free tickets for the next game. The plan works.
French intelligence assumes that 90 per cent of attempts to create new foreign sources will end in failure, and 10 per cent success, “just like in real life”.
Surveillance techniques
Some surveillance techniques are shown. For example, one agent displays how he replaces an HDMI cable in an office with another including a small SD card that records all video coming through such as Zoom calls.
Another explains how she leads a double life running a real business with employees and clients but also carrying out a second mission via that company collecting intelligence.
Agents explain how hard it is to keep their jobs from their families, with one saying they learn not to ask questions.
One unnamed agent said: “Most secret agents of the DGSE are under diplomatic cover in embassies. It’s not James Bond. We don’t have a Walther PPK in our pocket. The odd vodka martini is possible.
“In general, we rely more on subtleness and discretion and rigorous handling of communications means than an M4 or a Glock [both types of guns].”
The documentary opens with members of the DGSE making a distinction between “secret agent” and “spy”, which is a narrower job title and only part of the activity of the agency. The secret agent’s role is to “gather information abroad to protect France”.
However, this often happens from behind a desk.
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