Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE)

French foreign intelligence 1982-

DGSE headquarters on Boulevard Mortier, Paris 20th arrondissement (Tangopaso).

The General Directorate of External Security (French: Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure-DGSE) is the French foreign intelligence service (ref 2).

It replaced the SDECE in 1982 as a result of reforms initiated by president François Mitterrand, which led to greater centralization and the removal of officials deemed unsympathetic to the left (ref 3, pp.158-159).