Keyword: peacekeepers

How French defence firm Thales placed a mole inside the UN

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The United Nations headquarters in New York. © Photo Jewel Samad / AFP The United Nations headquarters in New York. © Photo Jewel Samad / AFP

From 2016 to 2019 an officer in the French air force reserve worked for the United Nations in New York in a technology and communications department that helped support peacekeeping missions. Officially the French military had seconded his services free of charge to the UN. But in reality the experienced officer was working for and being paid by France's major defence and electronics firm Thales, according to documents seen by Mediapart. As Yann Philippin and Antton Rouget report, senior figures in the French state were aware of what was going on.

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