Local media claimed on Thursday that France’s military intelligence head had been fired due to his lack of experience and failure to warn before Russia began a conflict in Ukraine.
According to the newspaper L’Opinion, the armed forces chief of staff notified Gen. Eric Vidaud, Director of military intelligence, on Tuesday that he would be leaving by summer.
Vidaud, on the other hand, revealed his plan to resign immediately in an email to his employees on Wednesday, according to FranceInfo.
Vidaud was assigned to the position seven months ago, and was responsible for supplying intelligence on battle zones, terrorism advancements, terror groups, satellites, submarines, and espionage, among other vital areas of military intelligence.
Within the military, he was allegedly chastised for failing to predict key events, offering insufficient briefings, and lacking knowledge.
Thierry Burkhard, the Chief of the Defense Staff, openly chastised the intelligence services for failing to forecast the Russian conflict.
“The Americans were correct when they predicted that the Russians would attack.” In a March 6 interview with Le Monde, he said, “Our services rather considered that the annexation of Ukraine would have a terrible cost and that the Russians had alternative possibilities.”
After Russia launched its war on Ukraine on February 24, France began deploying military equipment and extra troops to support NATO operations in the Baltic nations.
To read our blog on “US warns Russia for diverting military troops to Ukraine,” click here.