February 11, 2026
by Joseph Fitsanakis
FOUR MEN HAVE BEEN arrested in France on suspicion of spying for China using a system of parabolic antennas and computers installed at a rented property in the French countryside. The men were arrested last Saturday and Sunday by the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), which focuses on counterterrorism and counterespionage.
Two of the arrests took place on-site at a property in Camblanes-et-Meynac, a picturesque village located around 10 miles from Bordeaux in south-western France’s Gironde region. The property had reportedly been rented through the rental broker application Airbnb by two Chinese nationals who arrived in France in January. They are believed to have entered the country using work visas as engineers for a wireless telecommunications firm.
After settling in Camblanes-et-Meynac, the men erected a large parabolic antenna system in the garden of the rented property. The move reportedly alarmed locals, who noticed that their own Internet service experienced disruptions following the erection of the parabolic antenna system by the Chinese nationals. A local family proceeded to alert local authorities about the antenna.
According to reports the DGSI arrested two Chinese nationals aged 27 and 29, while also seizing a substantial quantity of computer and satellite equipment that was found on the property. Two other men reportedly “of Chinese origin” but based in France, were also arrested over the weekend. They were charged with providing assistance to the two residents of the Airbnb property by illegally importing the satellite equipment installed on the property. Their identities have not been released by the authorities.
The French prosecutor’s office stated that the suspects were engaged in efforts to “capture satellite data from the Starlink [mobile broadband] network”. They were also allegedly trying to intercept communications data from “vital entities” in the military realm and “retransmit them to their country of origin”, namely China, according to the statement. They are now in custody facing charges of “delivering information to a foreign power […] likely to damage the interests” of France—a standard phraseology used in the French legal code to describe foreign espionage.
France’s Gironde region has long been an epicenter of espionage by international actors due to its proximity to a growing number of facilities and restricted sites related to critical telecommunication, aerospace, and defense industries. Several small towns and villages in the area are in proximity to the industrial core of France’s defense, space and aeronautics operations.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 11 February 2026 | Permalink
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France arrests alleged Chinese spies living in small village—four arrests so far
February 11, 2026 by Joseph Fitsanakis Leave a comment
Two of the arrests took place on-site at a property in Camblanes-et-Meynac, a picturesque village located around 10 miles from Bordeaux in south-western France’s Gironde region. The property had reportedly been rented through the rental broker application Airbnb by two Chinese nationals who arrived in France in January. They are believed to have entered the country using work visas as engineers for a wireless telecommunications firm.
After settling in Camblanes-et-Meynac, the men erected a large parabolic antenna system in the garden of the rented property. The move reportedly alarmed locals, who noticed that their own Internet service experienced disruptions following the erection of the parabolic antenna system by the Chinese nationals. A local family proceeded to alert local authorities about the antenna.
According to reports the DGSI arrested two Chinese nationals aged 27 and 29, while also seizing a substantial quantity of computer and satellite equipment that was found on the property. Two other men reportedly “of Chinese origin” but based in France, were also arrested over the weekend. They were charged with providing assistance to the two residents of the Airbnb property by illegally importing the satellite equipment installed on the property. Their identities have not been released by the authorities.
The French prosecutor’s office stated that the suspects were engaged in efforts to “capture satellite data from the Starlink [mobile broadband] network”. They were also allegedly trying to intercept communications data from “vital entities” in the military realm and “retransmit them to their country of origin”, namely China, according to the statement. They are now in custody facing charges of “delivering information to a foreign power […] likely to damage the interests” of France—a standard phraseology used in the French legal code to describe foreign espionage.
France’s Gironde region has long been an epicenter of espionage by international actors due to its proximity to a growing number of facilities and restricted sites related to critical telecommunication, aerospace, and defense industries. Several small towns and villages in the area are in proximity to the industrial core of France’s defense, space and aeronautics operations.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 11 February 2026 | Permalink
Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with China, DGSI (France), espionage, France, News, SIGINT, Starlink, telecommunications