A French intelligence officer allegedly committed suicide near Paris, marking the third similar incident in recent months.
French media sources reported Wednesday that a French intelligence officer was discovered dead in a parking area at their workplace in Levallois-Perret, a suburb of Paris. Authorities suspect the death was a suicide.
The officer, whose identity remains undisclosed, was found on Monday afternoon in a company vehicle located in the underground parking garage of the Directorate General for Internal Security (DGSI), France’s domestic intelligence agency which operates under the Interior Ministry. The DGSI works alongside the National Police and the National Gendarmerie and focuses on surveillance, counter-espionage, and combating terrorism and cybercrime.
Le Parisien and Actu17, citing law enforcement and judicial sources, reported that the officer died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head using their service weapon.
Media outlets have reported that a suicide note was found at the officer’s residence. His wife alerted authorities after finding the note, which led to a search by his colleagues at DGSI headquarters and the subsequent discovery of his body in the car.
While the contents of the note have not been disclosed, reports suggest it expressed an intent to die by suicide. Nonetheless, the local prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation to ascertain the cause of death. The DGSI’s internal investigation unit is managing the inquiry.
This incident marks the third suspected suicide of a DGSI officer in the last five months. In January, another officer reportedly died by suicide in the agency’s basement under similar circumstances. Two days prior, another officer fatally shot himself at home, allegedly due to personal matters unrelated to his job.
Neither the French Interior Ministry nor the DGSI have released an official statement.
According to Actu17, this most recent incident brings the total number of suicides within France’s national police force to ten since the start of the year.