Philippe Rondot

Philippe Rondot (born on October 5th, 1936 with Nancy) is a Major general French. With the retirement since December 2005, he is a “veteran” of the information French. He worked at the same time for the DST and with the DGSE, two services traditionally rival, and was the to advise for the information and special operations (CROSS-COUNTRY RACES) different ministers from Defense of right-hand side or left (Alain Richard, Pierre Joxe and Michele Alliot-Marie). Specialist in the Arab World, he is also the author of several works on the the Middle East, he was also member of IFRI and the author of several articles in the newspaper Le Monde .

Biography

Philippe Rondot , born in 1936 with Nancy, is the son of the general Pierre Rondot. Military cadet and former commando parachutist, he is doctor of political sociology.

Philippe Rondot enters in 1965 the special services, where he is officer with the Service action SDECE (the ancestor of the Head office of the exterior security, DGSE).

In 1975. Then captain, chief of assistant station of the SDECE in Bucharest, it is suspected of compromising by his hierarchy, then “put in sleep”. Fault of having been able to justify an absence of forty-eight hours, it must leave the service. (source Release of July 13rd, 2007)

In 1981, it joined DST, French against-espionage.

In 1986, it would have played a big role in the release of the French hostages to the Lebanon.

In 1990, it exfiltre personally Michel Aoun of Beirut.

Between 1991 and 1993, it took part in the creation of the Direction of the military information (DRM) to the cabinet of the Minister for defense Pierre Joxe.

In 1994, he is the main actor of the capture of the terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (known as Carlos) with the Sudan (Carlos carried felt sorry for against him, on June 28th, 2006, for “removal and sequestration”). It takes part in the release of several hostages in Libya and, more recently, in Iraq.

In 1996, it tries without successes to make release the 7 Moines of the Monastery of Tibhirine in Algeria which will be finally assassinated and takes an active part to reinforce the relations between the Algerian and French services.

In 2001 - 2002, it is charged to identify the authors of an investigation of the DGSE and/or DST on supposed bank accounts of Jacques Chirac in Lebanon and Japan. In July 2002, the results of this investigation lead to the replacement of Jean-Claude Cousseran by Pierre Brochand with the head of DGSE and of Jean-Jacques Pascal by Pierre de Bousquet de Florian with the head of DST.

Philippe Rondot was in charge of the coordination of the Renseignement to the cabinet of the ministry for defense of 1997 at December 31st 2005, date of its retirement. He was for this reason the “adviser for the information and special operations” (CROSS-COUNTRY RACE) of the Minister for defense, Alain Richard then Michele Alliot-Marie.

Business Clearstream 2

Philippe Rondot was one of the key witnesses of the Affaire Clearstream 2, which carried on the falsification of listings of the banking company of clearing Clearstream. He was one of the witnesses heard by the judges Jean-Marie d' Huy and Henri Pons in the Affaire Clearstream 2.

Small notebooks of the Rondot General

Its personal notebooks were seized at the time of a searching in its residence. Their contents revealed by the press put in difficult position the Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. These notes, in which he very consigned, are partially classified Secret defense, and are déclassifiées today. The general Rondot, person in charge of the French secret services, had as a practice to report of his manuscript writing his actions and his conversations in small notebooks. He also codified the people concerned not quoting them directly: thus the Prime Minister is shortened in PM, the president of the PR Republic, Imad Lahoud in Mahdi, etc According to Release of July 13rd, 2007, the practice of the notebooks with spiral of the Rondot general testifies to a “incongruous graphomanie”.

“Unobtrusive” files

The legal investigations on PDA HP iPAQ of the secret ex-agent of the information also made it possible to put the hand on new notes on the business Clearstream 2. This personal assistant, seized at the time of a preceding searching, reveals that certain notes compromising for Jacques Chirac and Dominique de Villepin were unobtrusive Mémoire flash PDA. According to the magazine Paris-Match the general Philippe Rondot declared with the judges that the obliteration of these notes emanated from an instruction of the former Dominique de Villepin Prime Minister.

Stéphanie Queroy, which is at the same time the niece and the assistant of the Rondot general, confirmed on July 4th, 2007 in front of the investigators the contents of these notes which it typed and which these notes had been unobtrusive at the request of Dominique de Villepin.

The Japanese account

The seizure of these notes revealed other businesses without relationship with these false listings, in particular of the documents of the French secret services making state of the existence of an bank account held by Jacques Chirac in Japan, credited with 300 franc million (nearly 46 million euros). This disclosure started again the Affaire of the Japanese accounts of Jacques Chirac to the Tokyo Sowa Bank. Judges d' Huy and Pons however are seized only by the business of the false listings.

According to the Duck connected of May 23rd, 2007, new documents seized in the Rondot general, poured recently with the file, would accredit the existence of the bank account in question. They are a shirt entitled “Japanese business”, two others called “PR1” and “PR2” (for “president of the Republic”), containing messages of DGSE and bank statements Japanese. Notes evoke “wrongly or rightly” the former president of the French Polynésie Gaston Flosse, personal friend of Jacques Chirac. The Parquet of Paris would have held a meeting Monday, May 21, 2007 to examine the possible consequences of these new elements.

Hearings

During the first hearing like simple witness on March 28th, 2006, Philippe Rondot indicated to the judges to have been charged in January 2004 by Dominique de Villepin, then Foreign Minister, to inquire into names and account numbers which were reproduced on listings of Clearstream. The general quoted the name of Jacques Chirac as that which would have given “instructions” to Dominique de Villepin on the checks to be carried out.

The Rondot general was again heard like Assisted witness by the judges Jean-Marie d' Huy and Henri Pons within the framework of the Affaire Clearstream 2 on May 22nd, 2007, on June 11th and on June 26th, 2007.

During the interrogation of May 22nd, 2006, the officer was questioned on the meeting of January 9th, 2004 in the office of Dominique de Villepin, then Foreign Minister, during which this last had responsible it for a secret investigation of “checking” into the faked listings of Clearstream. The magistrates seek to know the role of Dominique de Villepin in this business.

The Rondot general was also questioned on the Affaire of the Japanese account of Jacques Chirac (supposed) evoked in his notes, of which several were recently united with the file.

References

the general Rondot heard again by the judges , nouvelobs.com, June 11th, 2006

Clearstream: Rondot questioned on a Japanese account of Chirac , Reuters, May 22nd, 2007

the Rondot general heard again by the judges within the framework of the business Clearstream , Le Monde , May 22nd, 2007

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