This chapter provides an overview of the French secret services. The analysis considers the following variables: organisational structure, legal basis, institutional setting, and governmental control and management. The variables have been selected because they provide a holistic view of the authority, jurisdiction, and roles of the French secret services in operating without impinging on the rights of individuals or threatening the incumbent political system whilst being insulated from political abuse. These variables are also important in defining what is the French secret service in today’s world of transparency and accountability where many details about the secret services are open public knowledge and hence not secret. Utilising the variables shows the French secret services as different from military or police services even though they co-operate and operate closely with them. Language presents an issue when undertaking such an analysis. The word often associated with the organisations of state in France considered to be secret services is renseignement. This is loosely translated into English as information or enquiry but not definitively defined as intelligence.
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Segell, G. (2009). The French Intelligence Services. In: Jäger, T., Daun, A. (eds) Geheimdienste in Europa. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-91491-6_2
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