Imagine renting a quiet Airbnb in the picturesque French countryside, only for your neighbours to notice you’ve installed a massive satellite dish in the garden, pointing right at the sky. That’s exactly what happened in Camblanes-et-Meynac, a peaceful village near Bordeaux, leading to the arrest of two suspected Chinese spies.
Locals grew suspicious when the huge antenna appeared, coinciding strangely with their own internet service cuts. French intelligence swiftly moved in. Officers raided the rental property, seizing loads of computer gear and arresting two Chinese nationals, aged 27 and 29.
It turns out these men, posing as wireless communications engineers on work visas, are now charged with trying to “deliver information to a foreign power” – specifically, China. Prosecutors say they were attempting to capture sensitive satellite data, including from Elon Musk’s Starlink network and vital military entities in France.
Why this quiet corner of France? Experts believe south-western France is a hotspot for espionage due to its proximity to crucial defence, aerospace, and telecommunication sites like major airbases and industry giants such as Airbus. It’s been a vital zone for French defence research since World War One.
This isn’t an isolated incident either; similar cases of suspected Chinese espionage have surfaced in the region. French authorities, typically secretive about such matters, are now publicizing these arrests, signaling a stronger stance against foreign intelligence threats.
The mayor of Camblanes-et-Meynac perhaps summed it up best: “Here we tend to get artists, not spies.” But in this charming village, reality proved stranger than fiction, turning an Airbnb stay into an international incident.
