France is particularly exposed to Russian espionage and interference, such as intelligence officers under diplomatic cover and disinformation, because of its importance on the international scene, Nicolas Lerner, head of the French domestic intelligence service, told the National Assembly’s Committee of Inquiry into Foreign Interference.

The hearing, which took place last February but was only made public now, was chaired by the National Rally (RN) lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy.

Lerner, head of the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI), warned about political interference and the importance of disinformation in undermining France’s voice.

Regarding interference in political circles, the main subject of the parliamentary committee of enquiry, Lerner said that he notified some French parliamentarians about “several occasions in recent months, after having detected contacts with Russian intelligence officers under diplomatic cover”.

In the past, “high-profile” political figures have maintained relations with foreign spies, sometimes without their knowledge. Financial links are much rarer, as French intelligence has identified them “very occasionally and in individual cases”.

Taking the example of elected officials who went to Donbas or Crimea on electoral observation missions, Lerner considers this “amounts to crossing a threshold in terms of allegiance to the country concerned”.

This was the case of a French delegation in 2015 led by MEP Thierry Mariani (Rassemblement national/ID) when he belonged to the Les Républicains (EPP) party.

Similar observation operations occurred in 2020 during the constitutional referendum called by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which had 10 Rassemblement National MEPs participating.

China ‘less developed’

But no French political party seems to be manipulated by a foreign power today, Lerner added.

Thus, infiltration by “intelligence officers under diplomatic cover” remains one of the main tools, notably exploited by Russia, which has “the most important mechanism”.

He added that their number had decreased significantly since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, especially since the expulsion of many agents on French and European soil under diplomatic cover.

In this area, Lerner points out that “China […] maintains a network under diplomatic cover that is much less developed than that of Russia”.

Civil society and academia

The DGSI is also concerned about the infiltration of foreign countries into French civil society.

The French intelligence services are “particularly vigilant about the academic and research world”, which is highly exposed to espionage and interference through partnerships or twinning.

China and Russia, which are the focus of European attention today, are the states “with the most successful intelligence policies”, the French intelligence chief said.

In addition to influence, espionage and interference, these countries have “a policy of information or disinformation” to “discredit” the French influence and model.

Some states resort to “distorted information without any scruples to promote their narrative and discredit our model”, Lerner said, citing challenges to freedom of the press and freedom of expression insofar as they allow criticism of religion.

Yet, according to this disinformation narrative, France is presented as “giving lessons in policing and democracy” to the outside world – to Iran or Russia, for example – while being repressive at home.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU shut down Russian propaganda channels RT and Sputnik, Lerner noted. However, in his view, only exceptional events, such as the war in Ukraine, made such a decision possible.

According to him, this raises the question of the European legal framework.

The law should allow the “regulator to intervene beyond its usual prerogatives when sanctions are insufficient, and the banning of a media clearly and exclusively serving as a propaganda tool becomes necessary”, he said.

Increasing Russian spying in Finland

Meanwhile, a new report in Finland shows a worrying trend regarding Russia’s spying activities and similarities with France’s situation.

Particularly, a report conducted by the Finnish Broadcasting Company’s investigative unit and confirmed by Security and Intelligence Service (Supo) found that up to one-third of Russian embassy staff in Helsinki are intelligence agents in disguise.

In another report, Supo also confirmed an increase in Russian spying last year.

The report writes that Russian intelligence saw their activities “significantly” weakened, notably because of the expulsions and visa refusals. The number of Russian intelligence agents operating in Finland was said to have dropped by about half in 2022.

Russian foreign intelligence’s main method is “long-term and targeted personal intelligence under diplomatic cover” – not only in Finland but also worldwide, Mikko Porvali, Supo’s Detective Chief Inspector, said.

Russia’s foreign intelligence service is estimated to have a personnel of around 13,000-15,000.

Many Nordic countries have recently expelled Russian diplomats and made the numbers public.

Traditionally, Finland has been more secretive about its measures, and authorities did not reveal how many Russian diplomats have been told to leave or remain in the country.

(Davide Basso | EURACTIV.fr, Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com – Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos | EURACTIV.com)

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