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Two men suspected of spying for China have been apprehended in a small village in southwestern France. The village in question, Camblanes-et-Meynac, which is situated roughly 15 miles from Bordeaux and has a population of about 3,000 residents, became suspicious after a house rented through Airbnb was found to have a large parabolic antenna installed in its garden.
Locals observed that the satellite dish, which was pointed towards the sky, appeared around the same time as multiple disruptions to their own internet services. Intelligence officials have highlighted that the southwestern region of France is a growing focus for espionage activities, due to its closeness to key defense, aerospace, and telecommunications facilities.
Last Saturday, agents of France’s internal intelligence service, the DGSI, carried out a raid on the property, confiscating a number of electronic devices. The detained individuals are two Chinese nationals, aged 27 and 29, who are now in custody and face charges related to passing information to a foreign power that could harm French national interests. The men reportedly arrived in France the previous month on work visas claiming to be engineers for a wireless communications company.
Authorities further charged two other men of Chinese descent, living in France, with aiding the suspected spies. According to the prosecutor’s office, the accused attempted to intercept satellite transmissions, including from Elon Musk’s Starlink network, as well as data from critical military sources, with the objective of relaying that information back to China. This case is not isolated; similar incidents have been documented in the region, such as the arrest of a Chinese engineer in Boulogne-sur-Gesse last summer for spying activities involving a satellite dish, and the judicial investigation of a University of Bordeaux researcher suspected of providing restricted access to a Chinese delegation.
An expert on Asian espionage, Jeremy André, remarked that although the exact purpose of the activities in Camblanes-et-Meynac remains unclear, the number of sensitive potential targets in the area is significant. He noted the presence of installations like the Issus-Aussaguel ground station used by the French military, the Bordeaux-Mérignac airbase, and major defense companies including Airbus, Thales, and Dassault. André underlined that the southwestern region has historically been a hub for French defense research since World War One, chosen for its distance from frontline zones, a status that has persisted over time.
While the Chinese have actively pursued partnerships with local governments and communities in this part of France through official diplomatic and economic channels, André cautioned that such interactions can establish networks capable of being mobilized for espionage purposes. In recent times, French authorities have shifted their approach by prosecuting such espionage cases openly, rather than handling them discreetly. This signals a heightened willingness to expose the espionage efforts attributed to China.
Residents in Camblanes-et-Meynac expressed surprise at the revelations. The village mayor remarked lightheartedly, “Here we tend to get artists, not spies. Maybe they just wanted somewhere nice and quiet.”
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