France arrests 4 people, including 2 Chinese nationals, for alleged spying
China’s foreign ministry responds, says it opposes ‘malicious slander and smear’ against the country
Four people, including two Chinese nationals, have been arrested in France on suspicion of spying for China and were brought before an investigative judge, the Paris public prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.
The cybercrime division of the Paris public prosecutor’s office has opened a judicial investigation into the affair, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
This followed the discovery that two Chinese nationals had entered French territory with the aim of capturing satellite data from the Starlink network and data from entities of vital importance, particularly military entities, to transmit to their country of origin, namely China, it added.
Four people were brought before the investigating judge, with two of them being remanded in custody, it added.
The case is the latest in a series of incidents involving allegations of Chinese spying in Europe.
Tensions between Beijing and Western powers over espionage have risen in recent years as Western intelligence agencies increasingly sound the alarm on alleged Chinese state-backed hacking activity. China has consistently denied the allegations. China has also alleged hacking operations by Western countries.