The meeting was not on the president's agenda.
It was released to the public on Friday.
Thursday, Emmanuel Macron went to Boulevard Mortier in Paris to the headquarters of the Directorate General for External Security (DGSE).
He announced to agents of the foreign intelligence service their next move in 2028 to new premises located in Fort Neuf de Vincennes, in the east of the capital.
The amount of the project, 1.3 billion euros, suggests that it is not just a matter of moving a few boxes.
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“
The increase in the staff of the DGSE and the deployment of new technical capacities come up against the limits [of the] current site.
Fragmented and aging, this suburban property will soon no longer allow the DGSE to exploit its full operating potential
, ”explains the press release from the Ministry of the Armed Forces which announced the decision.
Expansion work in 2017 had already sparked protests from the vicinity of the “
Swimming pool
” boulevard Mortier.
“The teams in charge of cyber defense will benefit from dedicated and adapted premises, designed specifically to meet their operational needs.
"
Ministry of the Armed Forces
The need to renovate the DGSE's building stock has long been underlined by ministry officials and parliamentarians alike. “
The increase in the number of employees employed on the various rights-of-way and the development of technical means imply large-scale real estate operations because reception capacities are reaching saturation point. In addition, structural weaknesses in terms of networks (IT, electricity) and maintenance need to be corrected. A multi-year real estate strategy, on all sites, has been defined in order to bring real estate up to the standards of a modern intelligence service
, ”we noted during a budget debate in the Senate in 2020.
"
The relocation of the headquarters of the DGSE will not only increase its operational capacities but also strengthen the synergies between intelligence and operations,
" adds the press release from the Ministry of the Armed Forces. "
Modular technical platforms will make it possible to develop numerous cooperation projects between the DGSE and other State intelligence services, in particular the DRM (military intelligence directorate) and the DRSD (defense intelligence and security directorate) ), as well as with other entities of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, including the forces and the COMCYBER (cyber defense command)
”. Finally, "
the teams in charge of cyber defense will benefit from dedicated and adapted premises, designed specifically to meet their operational needs
”, it is emphasized.
The transfer of the service to Fort Neuf de Vincennes corresponds to an investment strategy including in advanced technologies, particularly in cyber.
Recruit staff with rare skills
Foreign intelligence is one of the keys to the superiority of the armed forces. It is one of the “critical areas” of sovereignty identified in the Strategic Review of the Ministry of Defense. This is one of the priorities of the 2019-2025 military programming law with 1,500 hires, including more than 700 for the DGSE. The service has more than 5,000 agents. Investments of 2.5 billion euros between 2019 and 2023 are planned. In the mid-term updating process of the LPM initiated this week by the Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly, the strengthening of intelligence resources appears at the forefront.
The installation work of the DGSE in its new premises will begin in 2024. In addition to the modernization of equipment, the service also hopes to improve the working conditions of its agents and strengthen its attractiveness. Recruiting staff with scarce technical skills is a challenge for the services.