Defense Security Directorate

After World War II , three counterintelligence services operated in parallel in France. In September 1944, the security service in the navy was reconstructed, in February 1945, the Air Force security service, and on January 30, 1946, the head of the Army General Staff, General J. de Latre de Tassigny, created the military security service (SSM). These three special services were merged on January 31, 1948 into the United Security Service of the Armed Forces (SSFA). SSFA was responsible for "preventing espionage and propaganda affecting the state of morality and discipline in the armed forces, protecting military secrets, guarding large military installations, preventing sabotage in the armed forces, services and institutions under the Minister of Defense" ^[2] . December 14, 1953 SSFA It was renamed the National Security and Armed Forces Security Service (SSDNFA), and on April 5, 1961 SSDNFA, in turn, was renamed the Military Security Administration (DSM). Finally, on November 20, 1981, the DSM was renamed the Defense Security Directorate (DPSD), charged with “coordinating the necessary measures to protect information, facilities, documents, or procedures related to defense and the armed forces or institutions associated with them, as well as secret national defense contracts " ^[2] .

DPSD tasks include ^[3] :

• development and monitoring of the implementation of measures in the field of security of the French armed forces;
• developing methods of protection against threats (terrorist activities, espionage, subversive activities, sabotage and organized crime );
• protection of persons having access to military secret information. Carries out the procedure for classifying national classified information .
• conducting research related to information processing and monitoring IT security ;
• the fight against the illegal trade in military equipment, weapons and ammunition.

DPSD conducts its activities in all locations of the French armed forces, and also performs tasks in the field of economic counterintelligence (industrial safety) to protect high-tech defense enterprises.

• Divisional General Michel Joran (1981—1982)
• Brigadier General Arman Votren (1982–1984)
• Brigadier General Jean-Louis Débé (1985-1987)
• Divisional General Pierre Devemi (1987-1989)
• Divisional General Antonio Jerome (1989-1990)
• Corps General Roland Guillaume (1990–1997)
• Corps General Claude Asansi (1997–2000)
• Inspector General Dominic Conor (2000—2002)
• Corps General Michel Barro (2002—2005)
• Corps General Denis Serpole (2005—2008)
• Corps General Didier Boleli (2008—2010)
• Aviation General Antoine Creaux (2010—2012)
• Divisional General Jean-Pierre Bosse (since November 28, 2012).

The headquarters of the DPSD is located in Fort de Vanves in the western suburbs of Paris, Malakoff (department O-de-Seine ), on Boulevard Stalingrad. In addition to headquarters, DPSD currently has 42 territorial divisions in France and abroad (compared to 64 territorial divisions in 2001) ^[4] . The headquarters has the following units ^[5] :

• intelligence department;
• security department (protection of defense industry objects, control over the arms trade);
• research department (collection of information from agents and technical sources);
• Human Resource department;
• department of information and communication systems ;
• management and logistics department.

In 2012, the staff of DPSD consisted of 1,189 employees ^[4] , including:

• 957 military, including 227 officers;
• 232 civil servants, including 34 employees of category A.

Women make up more than 30% of the DPSD staff (65% civilians and 21% military personnel).

The DPSD staff has undergone reductions in recent years: for example, in 2006 it numbered 1,459 people (1,090 military and 369 civil servants). By 2014, it is planned to reduce the number of employees to 1,130.

In 2012, the DPSD budget amounted to 97.4 million euros (an increase of 3.7% compared with 2011) ^[4] .

• Jean Guisnel et Bernard Violet, Services secrets: Le pouvoir et les services de renseignement sous la présidence de François Mitterrand, Paris, La Découverte, 1988, 368 p. ( ISBN 2-7071-1785-4 )