“His contacts at the highest level of the state interested Soviet intelligence,” explains journalist Etienne Girard

The weekly “L’Express” reveals that its former director Philippe Grumbach was also a KGB agent from 1946 to 1981.

A great figure of 20th century French journalism was in fact “one of the greatest spies of the Fifth Republic”writing The Express. For 35 years, the former director of the weekly was an agent of the KGB, the intelligence and counter-espionage services of the USSR. Philippe Grumbach, who died in 2003, worked for Soviet intelligence from 1946 to 1981.

The journalists of The Express rely on information from another KGB agent, Vasily Mitrokhin, who defected to the United Kingdom and whose archives are stored at Cambridge University. “The name of Philippe Grumback appears in these archivesdetails Etienne Girard, editor-in-chief at “L’Express” who carried out the survey. There is his code name ‘Brock’, his year of recruitment in 1946 and the period during which he was a KGB agent, so 35 years.”

The 1974 presidential campaign influenced

Philippe Grumbach carried out intelligence and information missions thanks to his position at the highest summit of the State. “We still learn that he was considered close to Giscard d’Estaing, close to François Mitterand and close to Pierre Mendès France. It was his contacts at the highest level of the State that interested Soviet intelligence“, explains Etienne Girard, editor-in-chief at The Express.

One example in particular: this desire to influence the 1974 presidential campaign by transmitting false documents to certain candidates to prevent the union of right-wing currents in the second round. “He received the mission from the KGB to make the right lose to the benefit of François Mitterrand, allied at that time with the communistssays Etienne Girard. He will send a false document to Jacques Chaban-Delmas, who is the candidate of the Gaullist party, which contains false instructions passed by the CIA to Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. The idea is to make Valéry Giscard d’Estaing appear as the candidate of the United States.”

The absolute paradox of this story for Etienne Girard is that “Philippe Grumbach would pass a few years later as close to Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, to the point of being described by the Chained duck to be one of the most listened to advisors of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing”. But according to Etienne Girard’s investigation, Philippe Grumbach never tried to influence the pages of The Express : “There is nothing in the KGB archives at this level. I spoke about it with leaders of French counter-espionage. For them, his agent cover was solid because he did not use The Express for disinformation purposes.”

Ideological and financial motivations?

Contacted by The Express, his wife Nicole Grumbach confirmed her husband’s collaboration with the KGB, an admission he made to her shortly before his death. But why did Philippe Grumbach collaborate with Soviet intelligence? “In the KGB archives it is recorded that he was recruited by ideologyexplains Etienne Girard. He was close to the Communist Party at that time. The widow of Philippe Grumbach sent me a message, in which she explains that he agreed to work with the KGB initially because he had been revolted by the racism of the American army in which he had served. his military service.”

Another element in the KGB archives: a financial motivation. “On three available statements we discover in particular that in the 1970s, Philippe Grumbach received 400,000 francs, it is the equivalent of 250,000 euros todayexplains Etienne Girard. It would seem that this is the financial motivation that he continues to earn for so many years. His widow further explains that he felt threatened, that he would have liked to stop, but that he did not dare because he was afraid, including for his family.”