Nicolas Lerner
Nicolas Lerner | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 29, 1978 |
Nicolas Lerner, born June 29, 1978, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, is a senior French civil servant.
He served as Director General of Internal Security at DGSI from 2018 to 2024. On December 20, 2023, he was appointed by the Council of Ministers as General Director of Directorate General for External Security, DGSE, effective January 9, 2024.
Career
In 2018, while Deputy Director at the Ministry of the Interior, he was appointed head of the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI)[1]. He then became the youngest head of French internal intelligence, at the age of 40.
He was appointed Director General of External Security (DGSE), effective January 9, 2024[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6] with the mission, in particular, of modernizing this service [7].
He is reported as having a keen interest for Africa[8], as well as the Middle East[9].
Controversies
On May 18, 2025, Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging service Telegram, stated on X [10] that he had been pressured in France in the spring of 2025 to have Telegram "censor" Romanian conservative opponents during the campaign for the 2025 Romanian presidential election[11][12][13].
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France formally denied this in a statement[14]. Following this denial, Durov specifically accused Nicolas Lerner, Director General of External Security (DGSE), of having asked him to carry out this censorship[15].
Nicolas Lerner was then at the center of a controversy relayed by Durov[16], who repeatedly claimed that the director of the DGSE "happened to be in Romania two days before the election" [17]. These allegations were notably echoed by the AUR party, for whom they constituted "clear proof of foreign intervention" in the country's elections [18]. They were, however, denied by the Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE), which refuted Nicolas Lerner's visit to the country[19].
Pavel Durov reiterated his claims in an interview he gave to Le Point in June 2025[20], despite later denials from the DGSE[21].
References
- ^ "Nicolas Lerner nommé à la tête de la DGSI". October 17, 2018 – via Le Monde.
- ^ Paris, David Chazan (December 27, 2023). "New French spy chief has a to-do list the size of west Africa". www.thetimes.com.
- ^ "Nicolas Lerner Appointed Head of French Foreign Intelligence". Waradana. October 8, 2024.
- ^ "DGSE : Nicolas Lerner va remplacer Bernard Emié à la tête du renseignement extérieur". December 20, 2023 – via Le Monde.
- ^ "French domestic intelligence chief appointed head of foreign espionage". December 20, 2023 – via Le Monde.
- ^ Devin, Willy Le. "Nicolas Lerner, un préfet «moderne» pour diriger la DGSE". Libération.
- ^ "Nicolas Lerner, nouveau patron de la DGSE chargé de « réorienter » le renseignement français à l'étranger". December 21, 2023 – via Le Monde.
- ^ "France : France's new DGSE foreign intelligence boss takes keen interest in Africa - 26/02/2024". Intelligence Online. February 26, 2024.
- ^ "The head of French intelligence secretly visited Beirut: He discussed the situation in the south, terrorism, and the displaced". dearborn.org.
- ^ "Qui est Pavel Durov, le patron de Telegram qui accuse la France d'"ingérence" ?". BFMTV (in French). 2025-05-19. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ Damien Leloup (2025-05-18). "Pavel Durov, PDG de Telegram, accuse la France d'avoir cherché à « censurer des voix conservatrices » en Roumanie". Le Monde..
- ^ "Présidentielle en Roumanie: le patron de Telegram accuse la France d'"ingérence", Paris dénonce des allégations "infondées"". BFMTV (in French). 2025-05-18. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ^ "Telegram founder says he rejected a Western request to silence conservative voices in Romania". Reuters. 2025-05-18.
- ^ "Telegram founder says he rejected a Western request to silence conservative voices in Romania". Reuters. 18 May 2025.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE. Pavel Durov on his arrest in France, Macron, Russia, the FBI — and the fight for Telegram".
- ^ "Ce que la DGSE répond à Pavel Durov".
- ^ "Les renseignements roumains démentent la venue du patron de la DGSE française avant la présidentielle". 29 May 2025.
- ^ "SIE:French foreign intelligence service head did not visit Romania; attempts at manipulation and disinformation - AGERPRES".
- ^ "Présidentielle en Roumanie : Les renseignements roumains démentent la venue du patron de la DGSE française avant le scrutin". 29 May 2025.
- ^ "EXCLUSIF. FBI, Russie, DGSE, Macron... Les confessions de Pavel Durov, PDG de Telegram".
- ^ "Ce que la DGSE répond à Pavel Durov".