The (, , abbr. DST) was a directorate of the French National Police operating as a domestic intelligence agency. It was responsible for counterespionage, counterterrorism and more generally the security of France against foreign threats and interference. It was created in 1944 with its headquarters situated at 7 rue Nélaton in Paris. On 1 July 2008, it was merged with the into the new .

The DST Economic Security and Protection of National Assets department had units in the 22 regions of France to protect French technology. It operated for 20 years, not only on behalf of defense industry leaders, but also for pharmaceuticals, telecoms, the automobile industry, and all manufacturing and service sectors.

History

The (ST) was a counterintelligence and counter terrorism police service which was created in 1934 by the government of Gaston Doumergue and reinforced in 1937 by the government of the Popular Front. It enabled the arrest of many German spies during World War II. Several of its members went on to join the Resistance during the war. The DST succeeded the ST by an order of 16 November 1944, signed by General de Gaulle and relating to the organization of the Ministry of the Interior, supplemented by a decree of 22 November 1944. DST was entrusted to Roger Wybot, who was at the time head of General de Gaulle's counter-espionage section

thumb|Decree about the organisation of Direction de la surveillance du territoire (DST). .

According to a 2003 book, the DST has never been infiltrated by any foreign agency in all of its history.

During the Algerian War (1954–1962), the agency created the (ORAF), a group of counter-terrorists whose mission was to carry out false flag terrorist attacks with the aim of quashing any hopes of political compromise. Reporter Marie-Monique Robin, author of a book investigating relationship between the Algerian War and Operation Condor, said to newspaper that "[the] French have systematized a military technique in urban environments which would be copied and pasted to Latin American dictatorships." Roger Trinquier's book on counter-insurgency had a very strong influence in South America. Robin was "shocked" to learn that the DST communicated to the Chilean DINA the names of the refugees who returned to Chile (Operation Retorno), all of whom were later killed.

References

  • Home page from Ministère de l’Intérieur
  • Evaluating the Effectiveness of French Counter-Terrorism