French University Becomes Training Ground for Spies

Sciences Po Saint-Germain University in Paris is unique for offering an espionage course that attracts both typical students in their early 20s and French government spies attending on day release, Chris Bockman reported for BBC News.

The program, called Diplôme sur le Renseignement et les Menaces Globales (Diploma in Intelligence and Global Threats), was developed in association with the Académie du Renseignement. (Photo: Sciences Po Saint-Germain University)

Professor Xavier Crettiez admits he does not know the real names of many students enrolled in the course. This is highly unusual in academia, but his work is far from standard. Instead, he helps train France’s spies.

The program, called Diplôme sur le Renseignement et les Menaces Globales (Diploma in Intelligence and Global Threats), was developed in association with the Académie du Renseignement, the training arm of the French intelligence services.

“I rarely know the intelligence agents’ backgrounds when they are sent on the course, and I doubt the names I’m given are genuine anyway,” Crettiez said.

Located on the outskirts of Paris, the Sciences Po Saint-Germain campus — with its dour early 20th-century buildings, heavy gates, and discreet atmosphere — provides an apt setting.

The diploma uniquely brings together traditional students in their early 20s and active members of the French secret services, usually aged 35 to 50.

The program was launched following a request from French authorities about a decade ago, after the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks prompted a major recruitment drive within the intelligence agencies.