picture released, ECPAD
Washington correctly assessed that Russia was preparing a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, while Paris concluded that this was unlikely.
The head of French intelligence, General Eric Fedot, was fired after he failed to foresee the Russian war on Ukraine.
After seven months of assuming the position, a report stated that he bears the blame for “not providing adequate statements” as well as for his “lack of mastery of his tools.”
Washington correctly assessed that Russia was preparing for a large-scale invasion, while Paris concluded that this was unlikely.
A source said that the chief of staff of the French army held General Fido responsible.
However, the military source told AFP that his responsibility was to provide “military intelligence on operations, not on anticipation.”
Since General Fidos office concluded that Russia has the means to invade Ukraine, the source said, “What happened proves that he is right.”
As early as March, the commander of the French armed forces, General Thierry Borcard, admitted that French intelligence had not lived up to the American or British briefings that had been announced to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The Americans said the Russians would attack,” he told Le Monde newspaper. “They were right.”
“Our services instead believed that the cost of invading Ukraine would be prohibitive, and that the Russians had other options” to bring down the government of Volodymyr Zelensky, he added.
France’s misreading of President Putin’s position was so embarrassing because Emmanuel Macron had spoken to him regularly in the days leading up to the invasion on February 24.
It is very easy to blame military intelligence for the failure, which lies with the entire French intelligence community, Alexandre Papemanuel, an intelligence specialist, told AFP.
But General Fido, the former French special forces commander, appears to have been pressured for other reasons as well.
Weeks after taking charge of military intelligence, his services came under fire when Australia canceled a multibillion-dollar submarine contract with France in favor of a security pact with the United States and Britain.
The Okus agreement – between Australia, Washington and London – suddenly appeared in front of France, sparking a diplomatic row.
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