French military spy chief quits after Ukraine failings, sources say

Gen Eric Vidaud, who has led the Directorate 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.

Another source told AFP that there had been rumours within the army concerning the departure of the general in recent days, with the possibility that another post could have been offered to him, though in the end this was not the case.

The issue is particularly sensitive as 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 fact, the US 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 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 pressurise 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 war in Ukraine had exposed the differences between the intelligence services of France and those of the UK and the US, which have larger budgets and more room for manoeuvre in terms of surveillance law.