Two suspected Chinese spies, accused of using a sleepy village in south-western France to gather information, have been arrested.
Residents of Camblanes-et-Meynac, about 15 miles (9km) from Bordeaux, grew suspicious when - after letting a house through rentals giant Airbnb - the Chinese pair erected a large parabolic antenna in the garden.
The dish was directed at the sky and locals noticed that its installation coincided with a spate of cuts to their own internet service.
Intelligence experts believe south-western France is being increasingly targeted by Chinese and other espionage due to the region's proximity to defense, aerospace, and telecommunication sites.
Last Saturday, officers from France's General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) agency raided the house and seized a large quantity of computer equipment.
The men - Chinese nationals aged 27 and 29 - were questioned at DGSI headquarters in the suburbs of Paris and have now been charged with delivering information to a foreign power... likely to damage the interests [of France]. They are being held in custody.
The prosecutor's office stated that the men had entered France last month under work visas claiming to be engineers at a company specializing in wireless communications. Moreover, two other men of Chinese origin, residing in France, have been charged with providing assistance.
According to investigators, the suspects attempted to capture satellite data from Elon Musk's Starlink network, as well as data from vital military entities, to retransmit it back to China.
It is not the first time suspicious Chinese spies have been caught in south-western France. For instance, a 51-year-old Chinese engineer was detained last summer in Boulogne-sur-Gesse for attempting to intercept signals from a ground station.
The Chinese spies’ case raises significant concerns about the extent of espionage activities in a region crucial for French defense research, where several major aerospace and defense companies operate.
Local officials in Camblanes-et-Meynac expressed their disbelief at the events. Here we tend to get artists, not spies, remarked Mayor Jean-Philippe Guillemeot. Maybe they just wanted somewhere nice and quiet.
