Will Delhi Watch as Intelligence Agencies From Paris to Langley Open Up?

France's DGSE marks a decade of strategic outreach, blending intelligence operations with academic collaboration.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

Earlier this month, France's external intelligence agency, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE), marked the tenth anniversary of its internal strategic forum, known as Interaxions, with a discreet but significant gathering in Paris.

Hosted by DGSE chief Nicolas Lerner, the event brought together national security analysts in what was a quiet but purposeful step toward institutionalising deeper engagement between French intelligence and the intellectual capital that France possesses.

Lerner's remarks at the event, according to those present, made it clear that the DGSE sees immense value in integrating experts and scholarly insight into its operational and strategic environment—a sign of confidence that the French intelligence chief has in the workings of its agencies and the belief that they will not be 'corrupted' by external thoughts.

This French move reflects a broader global trend of leading intelligence agencies choosing to open selective, controlled windows to academic and policy ecosystems—not to compromise secrecy, but to complement it with foresight and flexibility.