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==Recent Periods==
After the turbulent years of the Napoleonic wars, French spying became more professionalized. The need for foreign intelligence became apparent after the French defeat in the Fanco-Prussian war in 1870-1871. The development of military intelligence was a result of this. This became known as the Deuxième Bureau, the agency in charge of French military spying and intelligence. The spy agency continued until 1940, when France fell to Germany. Notable success included early cryptanalytical work that helped in breaking foreign codes and communications. However, the agency suffered in the Dreyfus Affair, where notable military officers were accused or convicted of spying for Germany in the 1890s and injustice for a junior officer, Alfred Dreyfus, in being accused of being a spy proved to make the French military and its spying networks suffer in their reputation.
Another famous case was that of Mata Hari. She was a Dutch citizen living in France during World War I and became known for her exotic dancing where she later was approached by the Deuxième Bureau for her participation in spying because she could freely travel to neutral European countries. She was a famous stage performer and exotic dancer. She became a double agent, initially sent to spy on Germany but later spying on France. She helped the Germans uncover spies. The uncovering of spies by Germany led to her suspicion and eventually she was arrest and then executed.
French external spying suffered greatly in reputation after the failures to predict Germany's invasion routes in 1940. After World War II, France developed the General Directorate for External Security (DGSE), which became the equivalent to MI6 in Britain. Notable successes included accurately predicting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which the CIA had failed to anticipate, and uncovering Europe's largest technology spying network.
The Directorate of Territorial Security, which developed after World War II, and succeed by the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI or initially the DCRI; since 2008) has led France's internal spying and anti-terrorism efforts within France. The DGSI also merged aspects of the General Intelligence Directorate, which also had responsibilities for internal security, although it was an arm more for the police. French internal espionage often concentrated on networks within France trying to steal technology. However, a notable success came in 1981, when the notable Soviet KGB spy Vladimir Vetrov switched sides and gave France thousands of documents that helped it uncover KGB officers stationed worldwide. It was one of the greatest successes for France in the Cold War. However, it also participated in internal espionage. Once its agents were caught posing as plumbers as they were trying to install listening devices in a newspaper critical of the government. This led to the downfall of the interior minister.
[[File:Margaretha Zelle, alias Mata Hari.jpg|thumbnail|Figure 2. Mata Hari (or Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" MacLeod) was famous double agent in World War I.]]
==Summary==
