Direction G�n�rale de la S�curit� Ext�rieure
The Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (generally known as DGSE) is France's external intelligence agency.
On April 2, 1982 it replaced the SDECE.
Most information on this page was taken from .
Organization
Headquarters
Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure
141 Boulevard Mortier, 75020 Paris, France
phone: +33 1 42 19 30 11
Divisions
- Direction of Administration - in charge of administrative duties.
- Direction of Strategy
- Direction of Intelligence
- Technical Division - electronic intelligence and devices
- Operation Division (formerly "action service") - clandestine operations, such as "arma" (destruction or theft of materiel),"homo" (homicide or abduction), "obs" (observation), with a majority of elite military personnel.
- Action Division. It formerly had the 11th shock parachutist regiment until its disbanding on June 30, 1995, when it was replaced by three centers: CPES in Cercottes, CIPS in Perpignan and CPEOM in Roscanvel.
Directors
- Pierre Marion, June 17, 1981 - November 10, 1982
- Adm. Pierre Lacoste, November 10, 1982 - September 19, 1985
- Gen. René Imbot, September 20, 1985 - December 1, 1986
- Gen. François Mermet, December 2, 1986 - Mars 23, 1989
- Claude Silberzahn, Mars 23, 1989 - June 7, 1993
- Jacques Dewatre, June 7, 1993 - December 19, 1999
- Jean-Claude Cousseran, December 19, 1999 - July 24, 2002
- July 10, 1985, DGSE agents sunk the Greenpeace sailship, Rainbow Warrior, in the port of Auckland, New Zealand, New Zealand. The French government wanted to prevent the ship from reaching the Muroroa Atoll where the French government was then conducting underground tests of nuclear weapons. One photographer drowned attempting to fetch his equipment. An immediate homicide enquiry was started by Cpt. Dominique Prieur and Cdr. Alain Mafart (passing themselves as Alain and Delphine Turenge).
See also
