France’s General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) has detained a Belarusian citizen on suspicion of spying on a company that produces equipment for the French and Ukrainian armed forces. This was reported by Le Parisien, citing the Paris Prosecutor’s Office. French counterintelligence has not ruled out the possibility that Russia was behind the operation.
In early June, unidentified individuals threw Molotov cocktails at a Delair factory building in Labège, near Toulouse. No significant damage was caused because the incendiary devices failed to ignite properly. The Toulouse Prosecutor’s Office opened a criminal investigation into the destruction of property using dangerous means.
The Belarusian citizen was detained several days later, on June 3, near the Delair facility in Labège, outside Toulouse. According to prosecutors, he was found carrying “advanced equipment” and was arrested while filming a drone prototype. He had reportedly been observed near the facility on several occasions before his detention. Investigators also stated that he had been sending video recordings to a contact in Russia.
On June 5, the suspect was charged with transmitting information to a foreign power that could harm the fundamental interests of France, collecting information for transmission to a foreign state, and participating in the activities of a criminal organisation. He remains in custody.
Delair is one of Ukraine’s key suppliers of military drones and has significantly expanded production since the start of the war.
