From Nestor Burma to the DGSE… How Guy Marchand became an “honorable correspondent”

On screen, he played the famous private detective Nestor Burma. In real life, Guy Marchand also played spies in his spare time. The actor, who died at the end of 2023, worked as an “honorable correspondent” (HC) for French foreign intelligence. A revelation from the book The New Army of Shadows (Albin Michel), written by Franck Renaud, Pierre Gastineau and Antoine Izambard, all three journalists at Intelligence Online, released on October 28.

Franck Renaud indicated on Tuesday at France Info that the actor and singer “welcomed people to his home” and constituted, as an honorable correspondent, “one of the cogs” of the DGSE.

But what exactly does this status mean? The official lexicon of the center defines the HC as a “person who consciously and without consideration agrees to provide intelligence or clandestine support to an intelligence service”. The dictionary further specifies that an honorable correspondent “does not receive compensation for his services”. “It’s someone who is outside the service and who is not paid, that’s the difference with an agent,” summarizes Alain Rodier, former senior officer of the DGSE. It is always very interesting for the administration because they cost nothing. »

Former colonel within this same institution, now YouTuber and writer, Olivier Mas specifies that he can “be paid for missions, if he has to buy train or plane tickets”. The aid provided by these civilians - necessarily French - takes two distinct forms. Some, like Guy Marchand, deal with purely material aspects. The handling officer is looking, for example, for “people who have apartments that they can lend for clandestine meetings,” illustrates Olivier Mas.

The other category of HC directly helps in gathering information. The DGSE then targets specific professional profiles, such as a hotel manager who will communicate the list of his clients or an airline station manager. The term applies specifically to individuals providing “regular service”.

And even socialite celebrities can come in handy. If an actor maintains regular contact with a targeted foreign leader, “the DGSE could have the idea of ​​proposing it to him,” adds Olivier Mas. For these civilians, no training required. The central agents do not ask him to lie, the recruit remains himself. “He doesn’t need to be professional,” reassures the ex-soldier. The main driving force often remains “patriotism”, coupled with “a little excitement”.

But how does the service recruit these atypical profiles? In the case of the interpreter of Destiny, his military past undoubtedly played a role. Guy Marchand was a former paratrooper, but “there are a certain number of them in the Action Service” of the DGSE, recalled Franck Renaud. According to Olivier Mas, it is possible to imagine that he was put in contact with the intelligence service through a “comrade he knew at that time”. A classic scenario in the industry.

One certainty remains: spies hate spontaneous applications. “Someone who comes to offer their services, we would quickly have doubts,” says Olivier Mas. Alain Rodier displays the same caution. “So these are people who are chosen and are the subject of an environmental investigation. Then, they are approached and if they accept, they are offered to work for the homeland,” explains the former senior officer.

Once recruited, the HC joins a vast reserve. “There are stocks of HC. Posts abroad all have them, because you have to be able to rely on the French population,” underlines Olivier Mas. Do other film or singing stars appear in these secret listings? Absolute mystery. “Even if I knew it, I wouldn’t say it,” cuts Alain Rodier. According to him, these personalities require a strict rule, namely: “a certain discretion, before and after death. »