A French university located on the outskirts of Paris has become a true training center for France’s secret services in recent years.
BBC reports on Sciences Po Saint-Germain, the institution hosting a unique program designed for both regular students and active intelligence agents.
"I rarely know the true names of the intelligence agents sent to the course, and I doubt that the names they receive are real," admits Professor Xavier Crettiez. The course he teaches is called Diplôme sur le Renseignement et les Menaces Globales (Diploma in Intelligence and Global Threats), created at the request of the French authorities after the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015.
The program, developed in collaboration with the French Intelligence Academy, aims to identify global threats and develop methods to counter them. Topics covered include jihadist terrorism, organized crime, economic espionage, and political violence. The course consists of 120 hours of training and costs approximately 5,000 euros for participants from outside the university.
Among the students are young people aged 20-21, as well as experienced agents aged between 35 and 50. "I provide consultancy in West Africa and enrolled in the course to provide risk assessments to my clients," says "Roger," a 40-year-old student.
Professor Crettiez emphasizes that the French secret services have massively expanded, reaching around 20,000 agents. However, he warns that threats are not limited to terrorism: "Tracfin (a French intelligence agency specialized in combating money laundering) is very concerned about the growing mafia activities, especially in southern France, fueled by huge profits from drug trafficking."
Private sector interest is also on the rise. Major companies in defense, telecommunications, or luxury sectors are recruiting graduates of the program. Employers include Orange, Thales, or the LVMH group.
Contrary to the James Bond-inspired myth, the reality of intelligence work is much less spectacular, Crettiez points out. "Few recruits go into the field. Most intelligence jobs are desk-based," explains the professor.
C.S.