Gérard Royal is a former agent of the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy obj ...

Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure The Directorate-General for External Security (, , DGSE) is France's foreign intelligence agency, equivalent to the British MI6 and the American CIA, established on 27 November 1943. The DGSE safeguards French national security through intelli ...

(DGSE-"General Directorate of External Security"), who is accused of being one of those responsible for the bombing of the

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

ship ''Rainbow Warrior''. A long serving officer, who retired from the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

with the rank of Colonel, Royal works in an "economic intelligence business". He is the brother of former French

presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

Ségolène Royal Ségolène Royal (; born Marie-Ségolène Royal; 22 September 1953) is a French politician who took part in the 2007 French presidential election, losing to Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round. She was the first woman in France's history to r ...

. In 1985, Royal was a member of the DGSE implicated in the sinking of the ''Rainbow Warrior''. Since 1995, it had been public knowledge that Royal was one of the team of saboteurs. In September 2006, as his sister Ségolène became a candidate for the presidency, Gérard returned to media attention when his brother Antoine told ''

Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; ) is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of ...

'' that he had admitted to being the man who planted the bombs which killed

Fernando Pereira Fernando Pereira (10 May 1950 – 10 July 1985) was a Portuguese-Dutch freelance photographer, who drowned when French intelligence ( DGSE) detonated a bomb and sank the ''Rainbow Warrior'', owned by the environmental organisation Greenpeace o ...

. ''

'' quoted Antoine as saying "...he was called upon in 1985 to go to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Harbour, to sabotage the ''Rainbow Warrior''. Later, he told me that it was him who planted the bomb on the

ship". Some French media, however, citing sources within the DGSE, have stated that Royal was merely the pilot of the inflatable boat carrying the bombers. Royal has refused to confirm or deny that he planted the bombs, but made a statement complaining of "harassment by the media". Pereira's daughter and

both called for the

New Zealand government The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...

to demand the

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

of Royal to stand trial for the murder. But the government made it clear that they considered the case as closed.

References

External links

L'Express newspaper -- short biography (in French)New Zealand Herald -- Royal's connection
* ttp://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1753687.htm ABC's The World Today -- reaction to the newsbr>The FirstPost -- analysis -- Gérard's past may help Ségolène Presidential bidNew Zealand Herald -- Pereira's daughter calls for Royal's prosecution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal, Gerard French Army officers French spies Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior