Paris: The head of French military intelligence, Gen. Eric Vidaud, has been asked to step down from office due to shortcomings in his work in assessing the possibility of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, French newspaper l’Opinion reported, citing sources.
Vidaud had been in office for seven months, according to the newspaper. A source told the news outlet that “lacking understanding of the issue” and “insufficient number of briefings” prompted the dismissal.
Thierry Burkhard, the chief of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces, planned to inform Vidaud of his fate in summer, but the intelligence chief preferred to leave the military establishment immediately.
Brig. Gen. Jacques Langlade de Montgros is expected to replace him as the French military intelligence director.
Earlier in March, Burkhard told French newspaper Le Monde that the US and French intelligence data varied widely, and that France wrongly assessed the possibility of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
