Claims that French intelligence chief resigned peddled by Russian propagandists

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Claims that French intelligence chief resigned peddled by Russian propagandists  Disinformation about the resignation of Céline Berthon, the first woman to lead France's domestic intelligence agency, emerged on social media during the summer.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/09/11/claims-that-french-intelligence-chief-resigned-peddled-by-russian-propagandists  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00No, the head of France's intelligence agency has not resigned.

00:07Claims that the head of France's domestic intelligence agency, Céline Berton, resigned

00:11emerged online and gained traction over the summer.

00:14Users relayed screenshots of an article which they alleged was published by French newspaper

00:18Le Monde in late July.

00:20Some posts on X garnered more than 200,000 views, while the allegations also appeared

00:25on LinkedIn posts and online blogs.

00:28And users claimed Berton was forced to resign after the intelligence agency she helmed was

00:33found to have enabled illicit cryptocurrency operations, which eventually threatened the

00:38collapse of the euro.

00:39Users also alleged that these so-called untraceable funds could be used by the French state to

00:44crack down on protests, such as the mass demonstrations expected in the autumn.

00:49They based their claims on reporting by Le Monde and the AFP agency, but these screenshots of

00:54the article are fake, neither media ever published these claims.

00:58Disinformation actors assert the article has since been suspiciously deleted, but Euroverify

01:03did not detect any evidence that Le Monde ever published this article.

01:07Céline Berton took office in January 2024 and has not resigned.

01:12Initially, when users clicked on the story on social media, it directed them to an online

01:17phishing scam.

01:18But over the course of the summer, the scam disappeared with the fake news about Berton's

01:22resignation becoming the centerpiece.

01:24The disinformation was shared on the Kremlin-aligned Pravda network.

01:28It was also posted on a blog run by Frenchman Cyril Delattre, who lives in Russia and appears

01:34on Russian state TV as a commentator.

01:37This is not the first time that French intelligence services have been targeted by Russian disinformation

01:42campaigns.

01:43Céline Berton has previously spoken out about the threats that Russia poses to French democracy,

01:48as well as the need to question claims on social media.

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