Particle.news
Download on the App Store

French Intelligence Cases Intensify: Ex-DGSE Chief Appeals Conviction as Prosecutors Seek Four-Year Term for Ex-Engineer

Judges confront intelligence-service lapses under strict secret-defense limits.

Overview

  • Bernard Bajolet filed an appeal on January 15 after his January 8 conviction in Bobigny to a one-year suspended sentence for complicity in attempted extortion and arbitrary deprivation of liberty targeting businessman Alain Dumenil.
  • Prosecutors asked the Paris court for four years in prison, a €10,000 fine, and a permanent public-sector ban for a former DGSE engineer accused of extracting sensitive data before moving to a Munich space start-up, which he denies supplying with secrets.
  • The DGSE rated the potential harm at five out of five, citing an unprecedented volume of classified material that included documents beyond the engineer’s remit, such as satellite development.
  • The prosecutor acknowledged the court cannot review the classified files and said formal proof of any transfer to the German employer will likely remain unattainable, with a verdict scheduled for February 23.
  • In a separate case, DGSI IT technician Andry A. received a 15-month suspended sentence after a June 2024 alert led investigators to over 12,000 files, including 226 classified items, some at the highest classification level.