The French university where spies are trained

University professor Xavier Crettiez admits he doesn’t know the real names of many students who take his classes.

This is a very unusual situation in academia, but Professor Crettiez’s work is far from standard.

Instead, he helps train French spies.

“I rarely know the background of intelligence agents when they are sent for training, and in any case, I doubt that the names I am given are authentic,” he says.

If you want to create a setting for a spy school, then the Sciences Po Saint-Germain campus in the Paris suburbs seems a good choice.

With austere, even gloomy, buildings from the early 20th century, surrounded by busy, drab streets and large, intimidating metal doors, it has a very low-key atmosphere.

What sets it apart is its unique degree that brings together more typical students in their early 20s and active members of the French secret services, typically aged 35 to 50.

The course is called Diploma of Intelligence and Global Threats, which translates as Diploma of Intelligence and Global Threats.

It was developed by the university in association with the Intelligence Academy, the training body of the French secret services.

This followed a request from French authorities ten years ago. After the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015, the government launched a vast recruitment campaign within the French intelligence services.

She asked Sciences Po, one of France’s leading universities, to offer new training to both train potential new spies and provide ongoing training for current agents.

Large French companies were quick to also show interest, both by integrating their security agents and by recruiting numerous young graduates.

The diploma is made up of 120 hours of courses with modules spread over four months. For external students – spies and those on internships at companies – it costs around €5,000 ($5,900; £4,400).

The main objective of the course is to identify threats wherever they are, as well as how to track and overcome them. Key topics include the economics of organized crime, Islamic jihadism, economic intelligence gathering and political violence.

To attend one of the classes and speak to the students, I first had to be screened by the French security services. The theme of the lesson I attended was “Intelligence and Over-Reliance on Technology”.

One of the students I speak to is a man in his forties named Roger. He tells me in very precise and concise English that he is an investment banker. He adds: “I provide consultancy services across West Africa and have completed the course to provide risk assessments to my clients there. »

Professor Crettiez, who teaches political radicalization, says the French secret services have seen a huge expansion in recent years. And that there are now around 20,000 agents in what he calls the “inner circle”.

This is made up of the DGSE, which deals with issues abroad, and is the French equivalent of the British MI6 or the American CIA. And the DGSI, which focuses on threats in France, like MI5 in the United Kingdom or the FBI in the United States.

But he says it’s not just about terrorism. “There are the two main security agencies, but also Tracfin, an intelligence agency specializing in money laundering.

“It is concerned about the increase in mafia activities, particularly in the south of France, including corruption in the public and private sectors, mainly due to massive profits from drug trafficking.”

Other speakers at the training include a DGSE official formerly stationed in Moscow, a former French ambassador to Libya and a senior Tracfin official. The head of security at French energy giant EDF also manages a module.

Private sector interest in this degree appears to continue to grow. Large companies, particularly in the defense and aerospace sectors, but also French luxury goods companies, are increasingly inclined to hire students as they face incessant threats in cybersecurity, espionage and sabotage.

Recently, graduates have been recruited by French mobile operator Orange, aerospace and defense giant Thales and LVHM, which owns everything from Louis Vuitton and Dior to champagne brands Dom Pérignon and Krug.

Twenty-eight students are enrolled in this year’s class. Six are spies. You can tell who they are, because they’re the ones who are huddled together at recess, away from the younger students, and who aren’t too overcome with joy when I approach them.

Without specifying their exact roles, and with arms crossed, it is claimed that the course is considered an accelerated springboard for promotion from the office to work in the field. Another says he finds new ideas in this academic environment. They signed the attendance sheet for the day with only their first name.

One of the youngest students, Alexandre Hubert, 21, said he wanted to better understand the looming economic war between Europe and China. “Looking at intelligence gathering from a James Bond perspective is irrelevant, the job is to analyze the risks and figure out how to counter them,” he tells me.

Another student in the class, Valentine Guillot, also 21, says she was inspired by the popular, fictional French television spy series Le Bureau. “Coming here to discover this world that I knew nothing about apart from TV series was a great opportunity, and now I really want to join the security services.”

Nearly half of the students in the class are in fact women. And this is a relatively recent development according to one of the speakers, Sébastien-Yves Laurent, specialist in espionage technologies.

“Women’s interest in intelligence gathering is new,” he says. “They are interested because they think it will contribute to a better world.

“And if there is one thing in common between all these young students, it is that they are very patriotic and that is new compared to 20 years ago.

If you wish to apply to follow the training, French nationality is an essential condition, even if certain dual nationalities are accepted.

However, Professor Crettiez says we should be wary. “I regularly receive applications from very attractive Israeli and Russian women, with incredible CVs. Unsurprisingly, they are immediately rejected.”

In a recent group photo of the class, you can immediately tell who the spies are: they had their backs to the camera.

If all the students and professional spies I have met are slim and athletic, Professor Crettiez is also keen to dispel the myth of James Bond adventure.

“Few new recruits will end up on the field,” he says. “Most jobs in the French intelligence services are office-based.”