According to France’s equivalent of MI6, French spies are largely unaffected by typical honeytrap tactics because their spouses are already aware of their extramarital affairs.
Agents from the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) have noted that Russian attempts to blackmail French spies through illicit relationships have been ineffective.
An agent featured in a documentary titled “The Making of Secret Agents” explained that the usual response to such attempts was, “Go ahead, my wife already knows.”
This documentary aired on the French television channel France 2 on Tuesday evening.
The agent, identified only as ‘Nicolas,’ mentioned that defectors from the Soviet Union often spoke of what is known as the ‘French paradox.’
He explained that the strategy of confronting a Frenchman caught in an affair with a young woman named Tatyana with threats to inform his wife was ineffective, as reported by The Telegraph.
French spies are immune to honeytrap schemes as their wives already know that they are having affairs, the French counterpart to MI6 has revealed (stock photo)
This is because they would normally say ‘she already knows about it’ or ‘Go ahead, show her, she’ll understand’.
It comes after senior Tory MP William Wragg quit top party and Commons jobs after revealing he gave away colleagues phone numbers after being honeytrapped on a gay dating app.
William Wragg stepped down as vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee, the backbench Conservative organisation, and as chairman of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC).
The MP for Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester admitted last week that he had given his colleagues’ phone numbers away to a Grindr contact for fear of intimate images of himself being leaked.
Scotland Yard has said it is investigating reports of the so-called ‘honeytrap’ scam after it was suggested that at least 12 men in political circles – including journalists – received unsolicited messages, raising security concerns.
It came as Mr Wragg was criticised by more of his Tory colleagues for his actions, amid some calls for him to be suspended by the party.
Bernard Emié, 65, France’s spy chief until December last year says that the nation’s secret service is staffed by ‘ordinary people doing extraordinary things using exceptional means’.
The access into the spy agency was granted after recent negative press.
IMP William Wragg admitted passing on phone numbers of MPs due to fears about blackmail after being honeytrapped
In a section of the documentary, Mr Emié vigorously rebuffs claims that French spies were not aware of the forthcoming Russian invasion of Ukraine when Putin’s troops lined up on the border in February 2022.
Britain and the US had warned that Putin was planning on starting his invasion ‘in the coming days’ – but the French said it was not happenin. And President Emmanuel Macron was criticised for continuing to talk to the Russian president.
The documentary hit out at ‘Anglo-Saxons’ who claimed that they had photos that Iraq dictator had missiles which could carry WMDs, but that confused rolled-up carpets in a factory for petrol pipeline tubes and missiles.
It added that the ‘Anglo-Saxons’ were more likely to ‘throw more money at seeking to make contacts’ but the French spies focus on targets’ ulterior motives.
