The Shadow Wars of the DGSI, by Alex Jordanov
(B2) Merah, Bataclan, hyper kosher, Charlie Hebdo, gas canisters at Notre-Dame... Names that now have the same connotation for many: terrorism. To fight it, in France, it is the general direction of internal security and its anti-terrorist section which are at work, day and night, to thwart the plans of the Islamist extremists.
A crime novel
Far from being a specialist in the DGSI and the secret services, it was immersed in the heart of surreal stories and like something out of an American film that I found myself reading The shadow wars of the DGSI. 300 pages, read in one afternoon. A book written like a detective novel, full of spies, secrets and the big names of the terrorist attacks of recent years in France.
Alex Jordanov interviews agents of the DGSI services. They are part of the anti-terrorist section. They take turns telling their stories, answering questions and explaining their work. All very detailed and breathlessly written. We would almost see each other there. We imagine them, these men and women infiltrating neighborhoods and mosques, hiding in the bushes to take photos of training sessions. athletes » terrorists, from their homes in Corsica, spinning on the highway, planting microphones in the lamps and under the rims of cars. From Toulouse to Trappes, via Paris, Brussels, Nice, Corsica, to the Turkish-Syrian border and Pakistan.
... to be taken as such
Through the testimonies, we discover an overview of the functioning of the DGSI, seen by the agents in the field. We read there in particular a number of criticisms on the functioning in silos of the organization, the competition, the orders of the hierarchy misunderstood... In a large part of the story resonates the frustration of the agents, who say that such a person, " we almost had it, it was all ready but we didn't have the right to make the arrest for such and such a reason from the hierarchy ».
Unfortunately, only their point of view is given. Testimonies to be taken with the necessary distance and which leave questions unanswered: Could the attacks of November 13 have been avoided? Is this a sufficiently complete representation of the DGSI? Who decides on arrests? Who are these secret agents really? How good is the Management politicized »?
A lesson to remember
The lesson of the book, as confided by these secret agents, of what they call the " French BI is this: Everyone agrees on one thing. France, like other European countries, is on the verge of community confrontation, in a permanent state of siege. The “goal so desired” by the Islamists writes Alex Jordanov. Fortunately, there are several hundred of them, in France, doing everything to stop them.
In short, a good confinement book to take your mind off things. To be avoided for those stressed by terrorist attacks.
(Aurelie Pugnet)
- New World Editions, 2019, Paris, 296 pages, 19,90 euros