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France's military intelligence chief is leaving his post after Paris failed to accurately predict, in contrast to other western allies, that Russia would launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, several sources with knowledge of his exit said.
Gen Eric Vidaud, who has led the Direction of Military Intelligence (DRM) since only last summer, is to immediately step down from his post, a military source, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
The source confirmed a report on the website l'Opinion citing an internal Defence Ministry investigation that criticised “insufficient briefings” and “failure to master the issues".
Another source told AFP that there had been rumours within the army concerning the departure of the general in recent days, with it possible that another post could have been offered to him, though in the end this was not the case.
In the months before the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, France's assessments had contrasted with the gloomy predictions by allies including the US and Britain, who said a major military assault was imminent.
Senior figures from President Emmanuel Macron's government insisted there was no suggestion of a full-scale invasion and Mr Macron kept diplomacy going to the last minute, meeting Mr Putin in person in the Kremlin and trying to set up a summit with US President Joe Biden.
The issue is particularly sensitive as Mr Macron has largely avoided campaigning for the presidential election in April to focus on dealing with the war, aiming to burnish his image as a global statesman.
In early March, France's top general, Thierry Burkhard, admitted in an interview with Le Monde newspaper that there had been differences in the analyses between France and the US over what would happen in Ukraine.
“The Americans said the Russians were going to attack and they were right,” said Gen Burkhard, who has won admirers during the conflict for his frank assessments of the situation.
“Our services rather thought that the invasion of Ukraine would have a monstrous cost [for Russia] and that the Russians had other options” to achieve their goals, he said.
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A Ukrainian soldier fires his rifle from a trench at the front east of Kharkiv in the north of Ukraine, which continues to be shelled by Russian forces. AFP -
A gas station on fire in Kharkiv after Russian ttack on the northern city. AFP -
A medieval suit of armour 'stands guard' at a a Ukrainian checkpoint, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo -
Ukrainian refugees wait in line to cross the border into Poland at Shehyni. Reuters -
Destroyed Russian armoured vehicles on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo -
A resident passes apartment buildings destroyed by Russian attacks in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters -
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, standing, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address the House of Representatives via video link at Parliament House in Canberra. Mr Zelenskyy appealed directly to Australian legislators for more help in the war against Russia, including armoured vehicles and tougher sanctions. AP -
Fire lights up the sky east of Kharkiv, where Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian troops from a motorway outside the country's second-largest city. AFP -
A destroyed Russian tank in the village of Lukianivka near Kyiv. AFP -
Passengers arriving from Moscow at Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyrzstan. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of former Soviet countries in Central Asia are facing difficult choices: shrinking work opportunities in Russia and wages in the weakened rouble versus a return to the homeland where they have family homes, but even fewer job prospects. AFP -
Fire and smoke light up the sky east of Kharkiv as Ukrainian forces push back Russian troops from a motorway outside the country's second-largest city. AFP -
A Ukrainian soldier shoots at the Russian positions not far from the capital Kyiv. EPA -
A car marked with the English letter 'Z' is found destroyed at the central Ukrainian train station that was used as a Russian base in Trostyanets. Ukrainian forces said they had retaken the north-eastern town from the Russians. Getty Images -
Rescue workers at the site of the regional administration building hit by Russian cruise missiles, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
A dog looks at cars passing by on the road near a house painted with the colors of the Ukrainian flag, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo -
A soldier poses for the picture in Kyiv, Ukraine, while standing guard amid the destruction caused after shelling of a shopping center. AP Photo -
A Ukrainian serviceman stands near a destroyed Russian tank in the north-eastern city of Trostianets. AFP -
A worker pushes a cart past graves of Ukrainian soldiers who were killed in battle during Russia’s attack on Ukraine, at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv. Reuters -
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damaged apartment buildings and homes in Mariupol. AP -
A resident takes photos of a destroyed Russian tank next to the railway station where the Russian forces were stationed, in Trostyanets, a town recaptured by the Ukrainian army. EPA -
A rescuer clears the rubble of a warehouse containing more than 50,000 tons of deep-frozen food in the town of Brovary, north of Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, after it was destroyed by Russian shelling. AFP -
A Ukrainian army vehicle carries a Russian tank in Trostyanets. AFP -
Ukrainian soldiers carry a coffin during the funeral ceremony of a comrade in Odesa. EPA -
A man walks with his dog near an apartment building damaged by shelling from fighting on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP Photo -
Members of the Danish Parliament attend the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky's speech to the Danish Parliament via a video link, at the Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. EPA -
A satellite image shows crowds outside a Metro grocery store in Mariupol. Reuters -
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opens Ukrainian-Russian talks in Istanbul. President Erdogan told the delegations that "both parties have legitimate concerns." AFP -
Members of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps fire a howitzer at a position in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters -
Ukrainian refugees are helped by volunteers upon their arrival at Amsterdam Central station by train from Berlin. AFP -
Ukrainian soldiers ride an armoured people carrier through the town of Trostsyanets, about 400 kilometres east of Kyiv. AP Photo -
Firefighters work amid the debris of residential houses that were destroyed by Russian shelling in a settlement outside Kharkiv. Reuters -
President Joe Biden said that he is not advocating for regime change in Moscow after saying Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power." AP Photo -
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a warehouse after it was hit by Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. More than half of Kharkiv's 1.4 million people have fled the city since Russia's invasion on February 24. Getty Images -
Local residents pass by a destroyed Russian tank in the town of Trostyanets, east of capital Kyiv, Ukraine. The monument to the Second World War is seen in background. AP Photo -
A pro-Russian troop service member walks near a destroyed apartment building in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters -
Mykhaylo, 8, who was taken away from his widowed mother along with his 9-year-old brother and 16-year-old sister, plays with a ball in the garden of a state shelter in Lviv. Reuters -
Halyna Falko, 52, talks to reporters while looking at the destruction caused after a Russian attack inside her house near Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo -
Curtains flutter in the wind at a building that was damaged by shelling in a neighbourhood that has been largely abandoned and left without water, gas and heating, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
People, mainly women and children, arrive at Przemysl on a train from Odesa in war-torn Ukraine in Przemysl, Poland. The Polish government has said it may spend €24 billion this year hosting refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, and is seeking more support from the European Union. Getty Images -
A woman walks a dog past the so-called "people's installation to a Russian soldier" nicknamed the "polite people" created by residents in the backyard of their apartment building in the town of Podolsk, outside Moscow. AFP
In fact, the Americans had high-quality intelligence on Russian preparations and took the unprecedented decision, several weeks before the invasion, to make the information public in an attempt to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Alexandre Papaemmanuel, professor at the Institute of Political Studies (IEP) in Paris and a specialist in intelligence, said Washington had employed a new tactic in using intelligence to try to pressure a foreign leader.
He said France was well aware that its own intelligence had failed on this occasion, though he added that the DRM should not be the only branch of the security services to take the blame.
Le Monde said the DRM had often found itself sidelined by France's powerful foreign intelligence service, the General Directorate for External Security, famous abroad thanks to the hit TV series The Bureau.
But Mr Papaemmanuel said: “The warning is for the entire [intelligence] community. You have to be efficient and meet all the threats.”
A military source said the DRM's main role was provide intelligence on operations and not on intentions.
Its services had concluded that Russia “had the means to invade Ukraine and what happened showed that it was right”, the source said.
Le Monde said the Ukraine war had exposed the differences between the intelligence services of France and those of the UK and US, which have larger budgets and more room for manoeuvring in terms of surveillance law.
“Even if this reliance on Anglo-Saxon intelligence has existed for a long time, particularly in the fight against terrorism and in space, the war in Ukraine has shed light on it in a crude way,” the report said.
