The French secret services had assumed that an invasion of Ukraine would be too costly.
(Photo: dpa)
Paris Unlike the US intelligence services, the French did not assume that Vladimir Putin was attacking Ukraine. This now has consequences for the head of the French military intelligence service Direction des renseignements militaires (DRM).
The 55-year-old General Eric Vidaud had to resign because of the failed war forecast, French media reports. It was planned that his contract would not be extended in the summer. In doing so, he forestalled his own dismissal.
The French have already publicly admitted their error. As the chief of staff of the French armed forces, Thierry Burkhard, explained in Le Monde: “The Americans said that the Russians would attack, and they were right.” and the Russians would have other options to overthrow President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Burkhard is the direct boss of Vidaud. Vidaud is said to have surprised his superiors by deciding to leave earlier. Filling posts in the secret service is not normally discussed in public, but the quick resignation caused waves. However, the personnel was not officially commented on.
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Vidaud had only been in office for seven months and was the boss of more than 2,000 employees. Military sources see “insufficient briefings” and a “lack of mastery of the issues” as the reasons. There had been rumors about Vidaud for a few days.
However, military sources emphasized that DRM “does reconnaissance about the military operations, but not about the intentions”. The daily newspaper “Le Parisien” writes that the French secret services have increasingly focused on terrorist threats and Africa and have therefore neglected the East.
In France it is said that probably only one reason was sought for Vidaud to leave. A restructuring of the authority is to be planned. The four-star general, who hails from Toulouse in southern France, was appointed last year and was previously chief of the COS special operations command. From 2012 to 2017 he worked in the cabinet under current Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, when he was Defense Minister under ex-President François Hollande.
Vidaud’s career was considered exemplary
He previously held several posts in the Navy. In addition to his military training, he completed a Master of Business Administration at the French elite school HEC. His career has so far been considered exemplary.
However, his DRM nomination caused astonishment in military circles. Because it was intended for Bertrand Toujouse, the number two of the DRM, who has currently taken over the post as a representative. But the powerful French secret service DGSE (Direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure), responsible for foreign affairs, apparently feared that it could become too powerful.
A successor for Vidaud has not yet been confirmed. However, the French media are speculating about General Jacques de Montgros, former chief of the 1st regiment of Hussar parachutists, who is currently in command in Mali.
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