This report was drafted by the OECD Public Governance Directorate (GOV) under the leadership of Elsa Pilichowski, Director. It was prepared by GOV’s Anti-Corruption and Integrity in Government Division, under the direction of Julio Bacio Terracino, Head of Division. The report was drafted by Charles Baubion and Pauline Bertrand, with contributions from Liudas Zdanavicius and Carissa Munro. The report benefitted from editorial assistance and was prepared for publication by Meral Gedik.
The OECD thanks the High Authority for transparency in public life (HATVP) for its support throughout the project.
The OECD also expresses its gratitude to all stakeholders who took part in discussions organised as part of the fact-finding mission that took place from 15 December 2023 to 25 January 2024, and at the consultation workshop organised on 15 March 2024 on the preliminary results of the OECD’s analysis. This report benefited in particular from discussions with representatives of French government institutions responsible for national security issues and working to prevent and combat foreign interference: the General Secretariat for Defence and National Security (SGDSN), the Service for vigilance and protection against foreign digital interference (VIGINUM), the Intelligence processing and action against clandestine financial circuits (TRACFIN), the European Union Directorate (DUE) of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) and the Directorate of European and International Affairs (DAEI) of the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas, as well as the Report and Studies Section of the Council of State.
The OECD would also like to thank the researchers and experts who took part in these interviews for their significant contributions, such as David Colon, Associate Professor and Researcher at the Department of History of the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po), Dr. Paul Charon, Director for Intelligence, Strategy foresight and Influence at the Institute for Strategic Research (IRSEM) and Maxime Audinet, Research Fellow at IRSEM.
In addition, the report benefited from insights provided by the institutions responsible for implementing public policies on these topics in other countries during interviews organised in the presence of the HATVP on 24 January and 2 February 2024: the United States Department of Justice, the Australian Attorney-General’s Department and the United Kingdom Home Office.
Lastly, this report is informed by insights shared by the European Commission and OECD government representatives during a High-Level Dialogue on tackling foreign malign influence and interference held at OECD headquarters on 14 November 2023, as well as at a discussion of the Working Party Public Integrity and Anti-Corruption (PIAC) on 28 March 2024.