Its existence has never been officially acknowledged by French authorities, although numerous journalists, based on military information, have mentioned it, since the European Parliament investigated ECHELON and also its implications in counter-terrorism. The term was coined by Kenneth Cukier, an American journalist living in Paris, in a paper presented at the Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference in 1999, and later in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal Europe edition.[2]
The system is allegedly operated by DGSE, whose Direction Technique (Technical Direction) is responsible for signal intelligence.
The largest station is in Domme, near SarlatinPérigord. Some of the other stations in France are: Alluets-Feucherolles (Alluets-le-Roi), Mutzig (Alsace), Mont Valérien, Plateau d'Albion, Agde, Solenzara (South Corsica), and Filley Barracks in Nice.
These stations, in addition to the DGSE headquarters on boulevard Mortier in Paris, intercept and decipher electronic communications using software coded communications of diplomatic, military or industrial origin.
French newspapers recently indicated that DGSE had an interception program on submarine cables, similar to NSA ones. No official data indicates whether this could be a part of FRENCHELON.
^"La France se met à l'espionnage" (in French). Free (ISP). Retrieved 11 June 2013. Frenchelon (ou French Echelon) est le surnom donné au réseau d'écoute de la DGSE. Le véritable nom de ce système d'écoute n'est pas connu (contrairement à ce que nous expliquions, ce n'est pas Emeraude)
