1
The hidden and the revealed traditionally play a central role
in the Fine Arts. Referring to various attributes and employing
stylistic procedures, the artist suggests a message to be
transmitted to power and to the public.
Presentation
Since Antiquity, the cult of mystery has been incarnated by
the god of silence. The silence of the sovereign as he works on
behalf of the people is the sign of his genius. Some secrets must
be reserved for the members of a small circle. On command, the
artist pays homage to great men, sovereigns and generals, revealing
sometimes their virtues (for example, Turenne), sometimes the
very incarnation of mystery, expressed in the sovereign’s attire,
a symbol, as in the Rainbow Portrait of Elizabeth I, of omniscience.
Here, both the backdrop and divine nature symbolize secrecy.
From the Chevalier d’Éon to the secret agents of the
Presidents of the Fifth Republic, the exhibition, “State
Secrecy. Survey, Protect, Inform” goes beyond the clichés
by exploring the history of various organizations, vectors
of power, and original information–gathering techniques
from the end of the Ancien Régime to the 21st century.
In the exhibition, the first of its kind dedicated to such a subject,
the Archives Nationales, in partnership with the French Ministries
of Defence and of the Interior, lift the veil on this glamourous but
often misunderstood world by excavating little–known archives
and presenting a series of exceptional items. State secrecy was
associated with the protection of what was specific to government
affairs, designated in the modern era by the term arcana imperii.
Lastly, the reality of certain contemporary practices is also
materialized in symbolic objects, some of them artistic.
The values of the secret services are thus expressed in the
metaphors contained in their insignia.
State secrecy
imagined and
charicatured
2
The will of the French State to assert itself on the international
stage and protect sensitive information is reflected in the devel–
opment of a veritable internal and external intelligence policy.
A series of secret testimonies and unpublished audio and video
documents, as well as a gallery of mysterious machines are
presented in order to give those involved in the State secrecy
apparatus the opportunity to express themselves.
Della piu che novissima Iconologia…,
by Cesare Ripa, Padova, new
edition by Donato Pasquardi, 1630,
BNF, Arsenal, Paris.
Visitors can enjoy a stunning visual immersion experience of the
interior of the submarine Le Redoutable, the ultimate symbol of
secrecy and an incarnation of the concept of nuclear dissuasion.
Soldier listening
through a tube linked
to an amplification device
made up of four conical
tubes, 1870. ECPAD.
The modernization of the secret services in the 19th century
was favoured by new regulations which, in the following
century, contributed to the introduction of new laws
concerning anti–spying measures and the protection of
information. Since the two World Wars, the role of
observation techniques, transmission procedures and multiple
forms of electronic surveillance has grown in importance,
while at the same time there has been a substantial degree of
specialization in the fields of internal surveillance and external
reconnaissance. Scientific research, from military engineering
to the collection of information by researchers focusing on
the civil sphere, from cartography to drawings of battles,
has contributed to the development of a deeper knowledge
of foreign territories that makes it possible to analyse various
situations with a greater degree of accuracy.
3
Actors
and
practices
in the secret
services
Cover : Krzysztof
Pruszkowski,
the President of the
Fifth French Republic,
Photosynthesis*, 2015
[*Superposition
of portraits].
Graphisme in situ: [email protected] / Translated from the French by Michael Lavin
From the time of Father Joseph, Richelieu’s
secret minister in the Secret Services, the
history of State intelligence has involved men
and women whose actions and organizational
approaches have, over the course of the
centuries, undergone numerous changes,
culminating in the creation, in the late 1800s,
of a veritable specialist bureaucracy.
At first, it was diplomats, and especially
consuls, who were responsible for intelligence–gathering
abroad. Under Louis XV and his successor, Louis XVI,
the “King’s Secret” was a network devoted to collecting
information. The organization, which was in direct contact
with the monarch, mirrored the activity of diplomats. In the
19th century, police forces developed a series of surveillance and
internal protection techniques. But it was in the 19th century
that the current organizational approach to the secret services
emerged, with on the one hand, an intelligence–gathering force
based on the surveillance of opinion, and, on the other, counter–
espionage and military secret services tasked with espionage
in foreign lands in times of peace. These developments meant
that diplomats lost their monopoly on the task of gathering
information abroad. The modern secret services were born.
In another register, secret organizations often stir up rumours.
For example, by characterizing the obscure debates held in
secret committees at the National Assembly as events of central
importance in the history of the Republic, the press juggles
the rules of secrecy with the need to keep the public informed.
SPIA
During the course of the exhibition, the development of State
secrecy is presented in a series of written norms elaborated by
the bureaucracies of the diplomatic corps, the police and the
military close to the heads of the French State. The phrase
“State secrets” refers to particular affairs crystallizing specific
tensions. These affairs are broken down into specific phases
during the course of which the government attempts to protect
what it considers to be sensitive. “The Secret State” was also
based on the specialized bureaucrats responsible for managing
secrecy who emerged in the late 19th century. “State Secrecy” is,
therefore, a long–term historical construction encompassing
these two components, and which also has a spatial dimension
associated with those places to which the State denies access.
Rainbow Portrait of
Elizabeth I, Queen
of England, circa 1600.
Hatfield Castle,
Hertfordshire, England.
Sovereignty is reinforced by the geography of secrecy.
The secrecy of places supposes physical protection involv–
ing keys, wallets and safes, but, above all, the restraint
of those initiated “into the ways of State secrecy”.
The hand that seals, condemns and delivers confidences to
accredited, designated advisors and familiars, symbolizes
executive power and the taking of supreme decisions.
Secrecy can also be seen as a form of legislation first
introduced centuries ago on the order of various
sovereigns who employed the legal apparatus of
criminal codes, civil and military directives and
regulations. In the field of spying and counter–
espionage, traitors and other imprudent individuals
are sanctioned by the courts.
Secrecy is thus incarnated in day–to–day objects and often
banal locations. From the King’s Cabinet de Dépêches at
Versailles, a room in which the sovereign opened secret
correspondence, to the Interdepartmental Control
Group, which is responsible for phone tapping activities,
the geography of secrecy has changed over time,
constructing the secret image of successive regimes.
Using espionage techniques – foreign spies, French
citizens, or double agents – was made legal in
the reign of Napoleon I. In another field, the
National Assembly introduced a state of emergency
in crisis situations in order to justify the use of
“secret committees”. The red line was crossed with
the revelation of “affairs” of differing scope and
importance in which abuses committed against
the backdrop of the arcana of the art of secrecy
came to the attention of the public.
5
Secrecy is based on a powerful administration of
“initiates” in the service of the sovereign. It breaks
down information and contributes, in a discrete way,
to the continuity of the State. In all regimes, agents
file reports, describe situations and negotiate with
adversaries in a kind of shadow world, writing notes,
adumbrations and communiqués which later help
ministers and Heads of State to make their decisions.
Hand of Charles Gravier,
Count of Vergennes, sitting at
his desk and holding a missive
“To the King”; after the painting
by Alexis–Joseph Mazerolles
(1826–1889), circa 1781.
Paris, Musée de l’Armée – RMN.
State secrecy and secret papers
Lastly, State secrecy finds its ultimate embodiment
in France’s strategic nuclear force, which operates in
protected areas. In this sphere, everything is secret:
technology, arms, decision–making processes, and
conditions of employment. This very particular form
of secrecy is considered to be the most vital.
The French National Archives are home to
the archives of Heads of State, Assemblies and
public administrations. Many of these repositories
are protected by secrecy laws. This was once the
case of the Trésor des Chartes, the former Royal
Archives that could only be consulted with the
authorization of the King himself. In public
institutions, confidentiality is, in conformity
with the law, one of the regulatory functions of
civil servants. The stamp, the coffer and the seal
express interdiction and secrecy. Lastly, the secrets
contained in State files are revealed to the public
when they are considered no longer to run counter
to the interests of the country. Chronological
restrictions imposed by the legislature are lifted
(although it should be pointed out that there are
some derogations to this rule) and the evidence
is presented to the judgment of history.
4
A different
geography
of power
Elevated section of War,
Foreign Affairs and
Navy House, 1772,
Archives nationales.
7
Abuse,
denunciation
and
disagreement
The techniques
and languages
of secrecy
6
Secret scripts:
The hand of the Cipher
There is no State secrecy without secret scripts.
The Secret State needs to be able to dissimulate. The
people of the Cipher, those who are able to master
this singular expression of political decision–making,
operate in the immediate environs of power. They
are part of a small circle of trust. In the early days
of technology they decided to eschew manual forms
of ciphering and deciphering, electing instead to
use machines, which were more effective but also
generated more secure codes; these machines came
in the form not only of boxes and cylinders, but
also of tables and charts. Amongst the People of
the Cypher, international figures emerged, figures
who were to achieve lasting international fame.
Since the Registers of Grievances
of 1789, many abuses have been
revealed by members of the public.
Later, such abuses were unearthed by
the press and investigations carried out
by local authorities. Contention and
disagreement, which have sometimes led
to legal changes, has also contributed in
the long–run to reinforcing liberal democracy.
During the Ancien Régime, the sovereign was
accused of opening correspondence in secret in a room
known as the “Black Cabinet”. Indeed, the confidentiality of
correspondence is the fruit of long legislative and regulatory debates.
Various accusations culminated in the public revelation of secrets. What was formerly
the stuff of fantasy and speculation was confirmed as reality. The rapid evolution of
technology has made leaks more commonplace. Some of these leaks have generated vast
scandals, the most emblematic of which call into question the approaches employed
by the secret services and the State. Phone–tapping operations, the opium trafficking
scandal in Indochina in which the French Counter–Espionage Service were involved
in the 1950s, and the sabotage of the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, reveal to the
public the occasionally disreputable machinations of the secret services. Judgment in
these circumstances is left to justice and the passage of time.
Television, publishing and film regularly denounce abuses, while at the same time
deforming them. These media serve a critical function, even if political and economic
interests can also play their part. Recently, affaires linked to material published on
Wikileaks by Edward Snowden and his team contributed to the debate on the
protection of secrecy and its legitimacy in a world undergoing rapid political and
technological change. Beyond technology, reflection about the ramifications of power
and counter–power sometimes reveals wrongdoing.
“Appearance of the shade of Mirabeau”.
The author as a skeleton, regally seated atop
a pile of archives in front of the iron closet in
the Tuilleries, circa 1792. Stamp, BNF, Paris.
Electric letter opener
functioning in the same way
as a teapot by generating
steam to open envelopes
(1950–1980). DGSI Archives.
The emergence
of the Cipher in the era of
modern technology
The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century and the great technological
breakthroughs it occasioned revolutionized traditional approaches to secret
writing. The techniques and technologies of communication were entirely
transformed, with the optical telegraph of the French Revolution being
replaced by today’s digital cyber–technology. Electricity in the 19th century,
followed by computer technology, electronics and optics in the 20th – the
foundations of the information society – have massively increased the speed
and volume of calculations, an essential aspect of ciphering and deciphering.
Today, the secret battles of intelligence services are largely dependent on the
capacity of these organizations to protect their own information and access
the protected information of their enemies, adversaries, and partners.
The new technologies have been an integral part of State intelligence since
the 1990s, as it plays its role in an increasingly competitive milieu.